Smells Like Teen Spirit
by NightmareHarlotGirl
Summary: When Hermione returns to Hogwarts for her final year, all is not as it seems for the once busy haired bookworm. But what exactly does one Draco Malfoy have to do with it all? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapters 1 to 4

Smells like teen spirit.

Chapter 1.

Hermione smiled as she walked into the great hall. This was going to be her year. For once she could actually have a normal school year, no interruptions from Voldemort. Professor Dumbledore had announced that he would allow anyone who had missed the year due to Voldemort's uprising to complete their education. This meant the introduction on an '8th year' or two seventh years. She had been given title of Head Girl, which meant the peace and quiet of her own dorm and common room. However there was one downside to this position...

Flashback...

She sighed, sitting down opposite Ron and Harry. This year was going to be brilliant, perfect in fact. What could go wrong? Sure some things had changed over the summer, but they could be worked around easily enough.

"So Hermione, good summer?" Asked Ron. "I'm surprised that you didn't come over to the Burrow for a few days like you usually do."

"It was great. I'm so sorry that I couldn't come over, I was just really busy. Visiting relatives and catching up on work."

"She's all work and no play! Even in the holidays!" Exclaimed Ron, looking at Harry in mock despair. Everyone laughed.

"What about you two? Did you have a good summer?" She looked between the two of them.

"Yeah we did."

"Played quidditch every day."

"Camped out in the back garden."

"And Harry taught us how to play...what was it? Rugby?" Hermione giggled.

"Sounds great." Just at that point the door of the compartment slid open revealing one Draco Malfoy. Flanked, as ever, by his two cronies; Crabbe and Goyle.

"Aww bless them, they're having fun already. Won't be for much longer." He smirked. Harry and Ron just glared at him, whilst Hermione stared deliberately out of the window.

"Any why not Malfoy? Planning to become the new Dark Lord are we?" Snapped H1arry, obviously annoyed. Malfoy just smirked, his attention turning to Hermione instead. She continued to stare out the window, although she was fully aware of the icy blue gaze that was focused on her. Taking in every feature. Taking in too much. His gaze made her skin crawl. It was like he knew. Like he knew everything that she wanted...needed to hide from her friends. Like he could see into her soul.

"Jesus, what's happened to Granger over the summer?" Mused Malfoy to Crabbe and Goyle. Everyone looked at him blankly, except for Hermione, who knew exactly what he was talking about and continued to stare out the window.

"What the hell are you on about Malfoy?" Snapped Ron, his complexion reddening by the minute.

"Surely you've noticed...then again...maybe not. You're not very observant are you?" Ron growled. "Surely one of you has noticed her attire? No? A low cut top and mini skirt. Now that's not how the Granger that I remember dressed. Nothing shorter than knee-length and definitely not low cut tops. Not to mention that she looks a damned sight better than she did at the end of last year...she was all pale and deathly looking, now look at her...not bad. Not bad at all...for a mudblood." He sneered. Ron and Harry jumped to their feet, ready to defend their best friend until the end. Hermione sighed and got to her feet, standing with deliberate care and grace, before turning to face Malfoy.

"Watch your mouth ferret-boy. Someone might think that you were complementing me." Malfoy's upper lip curled in disgust but before he could reply, Hermione tossed her newly cut hair over her shoulder and spoke. "Is there a reason you're here or is it just a casual visit to irritate me?" Malfoy seemed to regain his composure and smirked.

"Yes, actually. I just came to introduce you to your new Head Boy. Things at Hogwarts are going to change this year, have no doubts about that."

"Really? Well good luck with that, to make any major changes at Hogwarts, you need the agreement of the Head Girl too." Replied Hermione coolly, looking at her black painted nails.

"Well, that won't be too hard will it? I didn't get a reputation for nothing."

"Mmm, indeed. But I'm Head Girl" Malfoy's whole face dropped. As indeed, did those of Ron and Harry. Crabbe and Goyle, being the genii that they are, were still trying to work out if Malfoy had been complimenting the mudblood or not. Hermione looked up from her nails and took a step closer to Malfoy, meeting his icy gaze straight on. The height difference didn't seem to bother her. "And I can't see your reputation working it's charm on me, can you?" Her eyes never left Malfoy's. He could have sworn that he saw blue tints in her hazel eyes that had never been there before. He broke away from her gaze, flustered. No, it was impossible. She couldn't be. "No, I thought so." She smiled smugly and picked up her bag. "Now I'm sure you've got some poor innocent first year to terrorise and I need to go and change." She breezed lightly past a stunned Harry and Ron and waved cheerily goodbye to a seething Draco.

She shook her head lightly and began marshalling the first years for Professor McGonagall. She was gently reassuring some first years about the sorting when Professor McGonagall appeared.

"Ah, Ms Granger. Can I have a word please?" Hermione straightened and nodded, following her Head of House to a quiet corner.

"I really don't want to have to do this Ms Granger, but in light of your ... condition ... I don't have much of a choice." Hermione felt the smile sliding off her face.

"What, Professor?" She asked quietly, her throat dry.

"You are unique within Hogwarts, although there are some like you in Gryffindor, they aren't as experienced as others within the school." No! Hermione screamed mentally. No, please, anything but this! "Unfortunately, there are less like you in Hufflepuff and only a handful more in Ravenclaw. I'm afraid that none of them would be able to help you understand what you have become as well as those in Slytherin can. So, after conversing with Professor Slughorn and the Sorting Hat, it has been decided that you are to transfer to Slytherin. Please, be assured Hermione, that this will not affect your school life at all. You will remain Head Girl, it's just the Slytherins' will be able to help you more than any of the other houses. I'm sorry."Concluded McGonagall, looking at the floor. Hermione was numb. This couldn't be happening to her. How could she explain this to Harry and Ron?

"How will the other students be told?" She asked quietly.

"Professor Slughorn will make an announcement at dinner. He will also address the Slytherin's after dinner and explain that you are to be accepted and any prejudices to be put to one side." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but realising that it would make no difference, she quickly shut it again. "If you don't mind me saying so, your condition may help you to settle in. Most Slytherin's will know and there is a large community among them. You should be fine Hermione."

"At least I have my own dorm and common room. I have somewhere to retreat to, if things do get out of hand."

"If anything gets out of hand, you will go to Professor Dumbledore or Professor Slughorn immediately. Do you understand me?" Hermione nodded.

"Yes Professor."

"Good. There will be new robes awaiting you in your dormitory. The password is Basilisk. Now go and enjoy your last evening in my house, Ms Granger." Hermione nodded again, smiling slightly at the password. She turned and began to head for the Great Hall when Professor McGonagall called after her.

"I strongly suggest that you and Mr Malfoy befriend each other, Ms Granger, he can help you greatly." Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. Yeah, he could help make her life a living hell. Not that it wasn't already.

Chapter Two.

Draco hissed the password at the portrait of a hunting lord. How dare they move her into his house? Why would they move a Mudblood into a Pureblood house? And how dare Slughorn expect him to befriend her. He stopped in the portrait hole and smirked. This was what he'd been after for the past seven years. The head boy and girl's quarters. Peace and quiet. All he had to do was put up with that insufferable know-it-all Granger. He was still stood there looking around the room, when Hermione came in through the portrait hole.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, falling to the floor. "What the hell are you standing there for?" She growled, getting to her feet as Draco turned.

"I don't have to explain myself to a mudblood like you." He snarled. Hermione felt the rage boiling up inside her. How could she become friends with that? She glared at him and shoved past him, pushing her bag higher up on her shoulder. She headed for the flight of stairs on the left, where the Head Girl's dorm lay. Unfortunately, he followed. "God only knows why they've moved you into Slytherin. It's beyond me." A growl began to travel up her throat and she turned so quickly that Draco hardly saw her move.

"You think that I want to be in your filthy house? You think that I want to be moved away from my friends and forced among people that wouldn't care if I was dead? I've got to put up with abuse being hurled at me from every direction for a whole year! My friends all hate me! I've got to lie me way around for the rest of my life. And to top it all off, we're supposed to make friends! You think I asked for all of this? Do you?" She was struggling to keep the hurt out of her voice and the anger in. Her eyes were becoming glassy and it took all of the strength that she had to stop them from overflowing. Draco, on the other hand, looked completely stunned. He had never seen this side of Hermione before. All he'd seen was the obnoxious know-it-all who traded insults with him. Never this, softer, emotional girl. He was confused beyond belief. He took a step towards her, narrowing the gap between them to a few centimetres.

"Granger..." He whispered softly, staring into her eyes. Their eyes locked again. There were definitely, light blue, almost white tints to her irises. "Your eyes..." Hermione suddenly flushed red and looked away suddenly. She closed her eyes and swallowed. He had to know, but she was in no place to talk about this now. She began to turn to head to her new dorm, but a strong grip on her forearm stopped her. "Granger, wait." His voice was so soft that it was barely a whisper. She pulled her arm away and began to walk.

"Just leave me alone Malfoy." She murmured, as the tears began to fall from her eyes, which were now completely pale blue.

Chapter 3.

Hermione didn't see Draco at all until the next evening. Which was mostly because she stayed in her dorm until late the next morning, hoping to avoid him. And thankfully she only had two classes, neither of which had him in. She was sat studying when he walked in through the portrait hole, she closed her eyes and sank in her seat, praying that he wouldn't notice her in the corner. Thankfully he didn't. About half an hour later, Hermione's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since last night. She'd decided to skip breakfast and lunch, still unsure at how she would be welcomed at the Slytherin table. Her stomach growled again. Frosty reception or not, obviously she was going to have to eat. Ignoring the odd looks and glares she got from everyone in the Great Hall, she sat at the deserted end of the table and began to help herself to the mushroom risotto. Hermione stared at her food intently, ignoring the constant stream of glares and odd looks being thrown at her from around the room. She barely even noticed when someone sat in the seat next to her. It wasn't until his knife and fork began to clank that she looked up. And jumped with shock. The tall, dark haired, dark eyed guy just smiled at her and smiled.

"Sorry, I should have said something." He grinned. "I'm Blaise." He offered a hand. Hermione smiled happily and set her fork down.

"Hermione. Don't worry about it, I just wasn't expecting anyone to sit with me." He frowned slightly and started eating his pizza.

"Because you've been transferred?" She nodded. "It's not usual, but it has happened before. I don't see what the big problem is." Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"I was a Gryffindor. And best friends with Harry Potter."

"You say that as if it explains everything."

"Doesn't it?"

"No not really. They don't even know you. No-one can judge..."

"A book by its cover." They both broke off laughing. Silence descended on the two as they continued to eat.

"You referred to your friendship in the past tense?" Blaise looked up curiously and Hermione just shrugged. "They've deserted you because you were transferred?"

"No. I've just...not spoken to them since it was announced. They'll probably hate me." Hermione pushed her plate away, suddenly losing her appetite. "Anyway, it was nice talking to you Blaise. It's really good to know that there's at least one person who doesn't hate me. I might see you around." She got up from her seat and was surprised to find Blaise walking next to her, a stack of pizza in one hand. He smiled happily at her.

"Sorry, I was kind of hoping that you could let me into your common room. Draco's been really off all day and I've decided to annoy him until he either talks or lightens up." He apologised.

"I didn't realise that you were friends with him." Commented Hermione, turning down a corridor.

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm his best mate." Hermione must have looked shocked because Blaise suddenly laughed. "He doesn't like people knowing because of his 'I'm-a-tough-guy-with-no-real-friends-act'. He's really a cool guy. You'll get to see that one day." Hermione snorted derisively.

"Yeah right!" Blaise just looked at her coyly, a nagging feeling poking around in his brain told him differently.

"Just wait."

Draco was sulking in the common room. He stretched languidly out over the sofa and growled. She was avoiding him. Typical, yesterday he would have loved for her to avoid him for the rest of the year, but now he was itching with questions to ask the irritating girl. The portrait swung open and quiet footsteps entered. Finally. He vaulted off the sofa and blocked the entrance to her room. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance. He had always been most comfortable in sweatpants and nothing else.

"We need to talk."

"No, you need to put some clothes on." Commented a voice behind her.

"Blaise? What the hell are you doing here?" Draco forgot all of his questions as his best friend walked in through the portrait hole.

"Visiting you. Pizza?" He offered, taking a seat in front of the fire. Draco just frowned and took the offered piece of pizza. "Nice set up you have here."

"Look, great as it is to see you, now really isn't a good time."

"Really? I think it's perfect." Draco let out a frustrated breath, he really didn't have time for Blaise's crypticness tonight.

"What are you on about?" Blaise just smiled and looked at Hermione, who was quietly trying to get upstairs. Draco started to go towards her, but Blaise's word stopped her just as easily as he could have.

"How long have you been a werewolf Hermione?"

Chapter 4.

Hermione froze. Draco froze. The air in the room almost froze. Blaise was the only one unaffected. Hermione turned slowly and stared at him coldly.

"How did you know?" Blaise took another bite of pizza and swallowed before replying.

"Some of us can tell wolves apart from humans." He looked at Draco. "I'm surprised that you didn't realise sooner." Hermione breathed out.

"Just promise not to say anything to anyone else, ok?" Blaise frowned. "Only you guys know. I haven't told anyone else yet." She turned and walked up the stairs dejectedly. Draco suddenly snapped out of his state and turned to Hermione.

"Hermione Jean Granger stop right there!" Power rang out of his voice and washed over Hermione, making her stop. "Now come back here." Again the power swept over Hermione, making her want to walk straight over to Draco. But then something else stirred inside her. She could walk over and stand in front of Draco, but she didn't have to. Omega. Something whispered in her brain.

"No, I don't think I will." She replied, crossing her arms, allowing the new compulsion to surround her. Draco scowled.

"Come Here." There was more power this time and it seemed to be actually coming from him. Alpha. Whispered that same voice.

"No." She hissed, turning round and stalking upstairs to her room and slamming the door. More to show her defiance that out of anger. She turned round and stared in the mirror. Her eyes looked almost ghostly against her skin. Had her complexion been as pale as it had been at the end of last year, it would have been ethereal. She inhaled deeply and thought of her parents, soothing the wolf enough for her to take control again. A knock on the door startled her.

"Granger, will you please come downstairs. We need to talk." Malfoy being polite scared her more than he did when he was angry. When she didn't reply, he sighed and headed back down the stairs. With him gone, Hermione could think. She couldn't hide forever, although she wanted to. But were these the right people to talk to? Could they help her?

Draco and Blaise were sat on the sofa, talking quietly, when Hermione silently entered the room.

"What do you need to talk about?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"It's going to be a long talk. Why don't you come and sit down?" Suggested Blaise kindly, smiling gently at her. She sighed and sat down in the nearest armchair to her.

"How long have you been a wolf?"

"Two and a half months." Both Draco and Blaise's eyes widened and they looked at each other with shock.

"You need to tell us how you became a wolf." Murmured Draco, still shocked.

"Why, what is it to you?" She retorted sharply. That was a particular memory which she did not want to relive.

"Because I want to know what kind of sick fucker could turn an Omega." Replied Draco hotly, springing up off the sofa.

"Dude, chill." Suggested Blaise. "Draco's the Slytherin Alpha. It's his duty to protect all of the Slytherin wolves. We've never had an Omega before."

"Why?" Hermione was genuinely interested. They kept repeating the word that had appeared in her head and settled into a small corner happily. Omega. What did it mean? Blaise bit his lip and looked at Draco for help. He sat down on the armchair opposite Hermione.

"Omega's are rare among wolves. Mostly because it is exceptionally hard to turn one. They can be born, but it's rarer than an omega being turned."

"Werewolves are born? I always thought that they were turned," Hermione paused then added quietly. "like me."

"Most wolves are turned, but you get some like Draco, who were born a wolf." Blaise glanced at Draco, who was staring at his clenched hands. "I know that it's hard, but can you tell us how you were turned? It's important that we know if you're going to join the pack." Hermione closed her eyes as the memories poured back into her mind from the corner in which she had hidden them.

"It was July 17th, my birthday. It was late and it was raining. I'd gone out into the garden with Tizzy and Tucker after watching TV. They must have smelt something because they froze and wouldn't move from under one of the trees. I went out to try and get them in when it attacked me. He came from the opposite end of the garden to the dogs and was easily three times bigger than a Great Dane." She swallowed heavily, trying to hold back the tears and the pain of the attack. Draco moved over next to her. Sitting on the arm of the chair he quietly whispered.

"Do you remember the colour of the wolf?" Hermione nodded.

"Dark brown. It was a lot darker than a German Sheppard and mottled with bits of black."

"Eyes?" Hermione began to shake as she thought of those huge amber eyes staring at her as she screamed... "Hermione? Sweetheart, it's ok." Murmured a voice she recognised and Draco's. "We're not going to hurt you." She realised that she had been growling and swallowed more tears.

"Amber...they were detached. Mad." Draco swore viciously next to her. She breathed in deeply, trying not to remember the feel of his teeth on her throat, the smell of his fetid breath on her face as he tore at her throat...she wasn't meant to have survived that.

"What happened after he attacked you? Did another wolf come and drive him away?" Asked Blaise, who was kneeling in front of her. She shook her head.

"Tizzy and Tucker drove him off, with the boxers from next door." Her voice was barely a whisper. Blaise squeezed her knee gently and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Dray, could dogs have driven a mad dog off a kill?" He asked quietly, looking briefly at Draco, who seemed to be battling not to wrap his arm around Hermione's shoulder in reassurance. He shrugged.

"Could do. What breed are Tizzy and Tucker, Hermione?" He asked, looking at the shaking girl next to him.

"Tizzy's a German Sheppard cross Collie and Tucker's a purebred Rottweiler." She mumbled. Draco looked thoughtful and nodded.

"Dogs of that size could probably drive a mad dog away, especially with the boxers. Four large aggressive dogs would spook any wolf, even a moon called one." He looked down at Hermione, who was now silently crying, mouthed a few choice words an put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. Blaise smiled. Draco was a strong alpha and making his need to protect what he viewed as his exceptionally powerful. Having an Omega in the pack would increase his natural protective instincts. But something tells me that it's more than her being an Omega that makes him want to protect her. He thought, trying not to smile. "I promise that I'm going to find him Hermione. Nobody deserves to be turned by a mad dog, least of all an Omega." She nodded shakily.

"Can you explain what an Omega is? I don't understand. Why am I so different?" Blaise just looked blank, it was Draco who answered her.

"It's complicated, but I'll try and simplify it. I don't know how much you've been told but in a wolf pack, the wolves are split into two; dominant and submissive. Subs are less common than dominants, but you'll usually get one or two in a pack. The alpha is the strongest, most powerful dominant. We're governed by our need to protect those weaker than ourselves. We protect our own ... aggressively, I guess. We're very possessive and easy to anger. Dominant males, particularly, will fight a lot to maintain their place in the pack. In a good pack, official challenges take place that are governed by the Alpha. Less damage is done that way. Submissives are kinder and gentler, with less of an urge to fight. Dominants relax around them because they are no threat to them. They don't have the urge to fight for their place in the pack, they're comfortable with their place. All submissives are equal in the eyes of the pack, but you do get more submissive wolves. Omegas are outside the pack structure. Or that's what I've always been told. They're dominant with the need to protect the whole pack, even from each other, but without the aggression." Blaise nodded.

"Like a kind of Zen wolf." Draco nodded.

"Exactly. Omegas aren't that rare in the human population, but as wolves..." He shrugged. "you hardly ever see them. Sometimes they're born, but it's rare. I don't know why, but... Changed Omega's are rare because it's hard for any wolf to physically hurt them. Submissives could never hurt an Omega, and the dominant's urge to protect is very strong around Omega's so they have a hard time hurting one."

"So why was I changed?" Whispered Hermione, her head resting on Draco's chest, tears drying on her cheeks.

"The wolf that attacked you was probably what we call Moon-Called. Mad dogs will attack anything that moves. They're humans who have little or no control over their wolf and the basic instincts of the predator take over." Explained Blaise quietly. He looked over at the clock on the wall. "Shit! It's almost curfew! I'd better run. I'll catch you both tomorrow?" He asked, getting to his feet and heading for the door. Draco nodded and Hermione smiled at him.

"Definitely. I never thought that I would meet a nice Slytherin, I've got to see more of him." She laughed slightly and he pulled a face at her and left. Draco moved, sinking to the floor in front of her, where Blaise had been. He looked up at her, his hand resting gently on her knees.

"I've still got a few more questions, you ok to answer them? Then I'm sure that you've probably got some for me." He whispered, his eyes locked with her hazel ones.


	2. Chapter 5

Smells like teen spirit chapter 5.

Hermione sighed as she stared at her reflection. She'd been avoiding Malfoy and Blaise for the past two days, still unwilling to face the truth of what she was. but even more unwilling to acknowledge how Malfoy had acted that night. He'd been so different to how she'd always known him to be. Understanding. Caring. Kind. Those were not words that were associated with Draco Malfoy. Already she could hear him stomping around downstairs, cursing and swearing like a sailor as he searched for a charms essay. That was the Malfoy that she knew the grumpy, rude, arrogant, egotistical bastard. She shook her head and hit the play button on her stereo as she passed it, drowning out his noise as she got in the shower. Her iPod playlist played a succession of upbeat songs, obviously trying to snap her out of her melancholy mood before settling on Where We Belong by the Lost Prophets, one of her favourite songs for cheering her up. She turned the hot water off and squeezed the last of the water out of her hair. After dressing in her new uniform, she set about putting some light make-up on, more to make herself feel better than anything else. A light dusting of silver eye shadow and light grey eye liner on top of a thin layer of foundation was all she needed. She returned to staring in the mirror, trying to decide what best to do with her hair. This was always the hard part. Her hair was so stubborn, not wanting to do anything but frizz out all over the place. In the end, she swept it up into a high ponytail, leaving a couple of bits loose to frame her face. She curled them around her curling tongs, thankful that Dumbledore has listened to students and created an exception to the warding spells to allow muggle items to work at Hogwarts. She stood, smiling at her reflection, before grabbing her bag and heading down to breakfast.

Malfoy was still searching for his essay, getting grouchier by the minute, when Hermione entered their common room. She barely even glanced in his direction, breezing happily towards the portrait. Unfortunately, he was not as content to ignore her.

"The golden child is still here. You had me hoping that you had eventually given up on being Head Girl and I could get some decent company around here." Inwardly, Hermione sighed, obviously the other night was only a vague memory to Malfoy. She turned to face him.

"Regrettably not." Malfoy just grunted in reply as he moved one of the sofa's in his search.

"You've hardly been around the past few days. Not that I'm complaining." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Unlike some people, Malfoy, I've been studying rather than screwing anything that will spread it's legs. And as a result, I don't have to turn the whole dorm upside down to find a half-written essay that's due in first period." She turned back around and stalked towards the portrait.

"Wait!" He called after her, anger raising his voice. Hermione didn't even bother turning round.

"In have nothing else to say to you." He growled.

"Well as much as I appreciate that, I have something to say to you." Hermione raised her eyebrows. "There's a pack meeting tonight and I have to introduce you to the pack." Hermione stiffened immediately. "You also have to be inducted in." Hermione shivered at the thought of whatever sick induction was probably coming her way.

"What time?"

"8, in here." She nodded and stepped out of the portrait. "Don't be late!" Shouted Draco after her. She snorted.

"I should be so lucky." She muttered.

Draco scowled as the portrait swung shut behind Hermione. There was something different about her today. He didn't know what, but whatever it was, she looked damn good. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone else, or even himself.


	3. Chapter 6

Smells like teen spirit. Chapter6

Hermione paced back and forth in front of the portrait to her dorm. Ducking behind a pillar, anytime that someone passed to enter. This was ridiculous. It's her dorm. She shook herself and inhaled deeply.

"Basilisk." The portrait gave her a relieved look.

"Finally! You're the last one in." Hermione paled slightly as she hurried in through the portrait entrance. The whole room was packed with Slytherins, chatting noisily among themselves. None of them looked up as she slid into the nearest corner, hoping to remain unnoticed as long as possible. From her corner, she silently observed what would be her new pack. Her first pack. Probably her only pack. She almost groaned aloud when she saw Nott stood in a group with Crabbe, Goyle and Flint. Just what he wanted in her new pack. Four boys who would happily see her dead. Wonderful. Her gaze continued to skim the crowd of Slytherins, noting how few girls there were. She recognised a few of them, but was even more surprised at the absence of Pansy Parkinson. Eventually Hermione noticed a small group gathered around one of the sofa's. Blaise was among them, but she didn't recognise anyone else. There was one girl sat in the middle of the group, strumming an acoustic guitar. It was difficult to hear her over the chatter of the rest of the room, but from what Hermione could hear, she sounded good. The door to Malfoy's room opened and he stomped out, scanning round the room, making sure that everyone was present. His eyes locked with Hermione's. She froze, trying not to show how uncomfortable she was as his gaze held her in place. Almost seeing straight into her soul. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded and headed up to the front of the room. He didn't even have to clear his throat to get quiet, the whole room just instantly tuned into him and out of their conversations. He went straight into the meeting, with no introduction or preamble.

"Watch your tongues and guard your hearts boys, because the queen bitch is back." Laughter rang out around the room and the girl who had been playing guitar flipped him off.

"Ha-ha, hilarious, boss man. Absolutely hilarious." She drawled in a thick Aussie accent. He smirked at her and continued.

"As she's back for good, I'm reinstating her as pack second and Blaise has agreed to step down to pack third." A grumble of discontent went up from around the room. Malfoy ignored it and continued. "Some of you won't like it, but that's my decision. I'm more than happy to hear your feelings and opinions about it, but it won't change anything. This is my decision and I'm sticking to it." He looked around the room, assessing everyone's reactions. "You'll also all remember, all too clearly, that there was a transfer into our house at the start of this term." Several growls arose from around the room and Hermione's blood ran cold. "She's also a recently turned Were and will be joining the pack." Shouts of disbelief followed that statement. "I didn't say that I was happy about it." Growled Malfoy, taking a step towards the grouped pack. Hermione sensed the danger radiating from him and shrank further back into her corner. Malfoy continued. "But no wolf can be without pack. So today, we induct her into the Slytherin Pack. Granger, come over here." Hermione felt the weight of the glares from the rest of the pack on her as she picked her way through them towards her new alpha. He barely even looked at her before continuing.

"I speak these words before the moon and our ancestors so that they may look down on us and approve of the new member of our pack." Behind me, the new second smothered a giggle at the expression on Malfoy's face. "By moon ties and blood bonds, we accept Hermione Jean Granger into our pack." He held his wrist out towards Hermione, who looked at it blankly.

"You bite it." Hissed the girl. Hermione swallowed bile and gingerly took his wrist. She hesitated again as it was level with her mouth. How hard should she bite? Should she worry about hurting him? "Bite hard enough to draw blood." The girl whispered again. Closing her eyes and trying not to think about what she was doing, she bit into Malfoy's wrist. He hissed as blood filled her mouth. Struggling to swallow, she was shocked when Malfoy took her own wrist and lifted it to his mouth. Just as she forced herself to swallow the mouthful of blood, Malfoy bit into the soft skin on the underside of her wrist. Her eyes flew open in shock as he took a mouthful of her blood. They stepped away from each other, both wiping their mouths. Hermione was struggling not to be sick as blackness encroached on the edges of her vision. The world began to spin around her. Malfoy had continued on with the meeting. She was on the verge of fainting when two hands gripped her arms in a firm grip.

"Hold it together for me," instructed a soft Aussie voice. "You're dorm open upstairs?" Hermione shook her head. "Ok, no worries. Come with me." She began to lead Hermione through the crowd, growling at anyone who didn't move fast enough to get out of their way. "Sit." Ordered the voice, pushing Hermione into a chair. Hermione's vision was starting to blur even more. She was only vaguely aware of water running, then a cold glass was pushed into her hand. "Drink, it'll help." Hermione swallowed the glass of water in a few gulps and felt the world begin to brighten again, making her realise that she was in a bathroom. "Feeling better?" Asked a redhead, crouching down in front of her. Hermione nodded, for the first time taking in the dyed red-purple hair that flicked in every direction, the deep brown eyes that were totally full of mischief and surrounded by thick black eyeliner and eye shadow. "Good." She smiled and straightened up. "I'm sorry that he didn't tell you what the induction involved. You should have been prepared." Hermione grimaced.

"Well, he was never my biggest fan." The redhead snorted.

"Yeah? Well he's gunna get his ass chewed out when I get back out there." Hermione smiled weakly. "He'll love you for that." The redhead laughed.

"I like you, the name's CJ." She held out a hand for Hermione to shake.

"Hermione. Thanks for the help." CJ waved a hand, dismissing Hermione's thanks.

"Nothing to thank me for. Come on, we'd better get back out there before the boss man comes looking for us." She helped Hermione to her feet and headed out of the bathroom door. The bedroom was full of dark green satin's and dark wood. Malfoy's room. CJ headed straight back into the common room, leaving Hermione looking round curiously. She shook herself and hurried after CJ. CJ was heading back to the group that she had been talking to before the meeting, Malfoy was working his way among the rest of the pack, listening to what they had to say. Suddenly CJ froze and swung round to where Malfoy was talking to Flint. The movement was so fast that Hermione didn't even see it. She watched as CJ focused in on Malfoy and Flint with almost deadly intent.

"I'm telling you Draco, it's a mistake. A huge mistake, none of us want her here. What are you thinking? None of us want a bitch as pack second. Let alone a freak half-breed bitch." Before Hermione could even blink, CJ was between Malfoy and Flint, her previously mischievous eyes now cold and hard as they slowly turned a vibrant green.

"What was that?" She rumbled, her voice almost a growl. Flint looked calm.

"You heard me bitch." He replied. CJ's lean body was starting to tense, every muscle contracting as she struggled not to strike him.

"You think that you're so much better than me don't you Flint?" She snarled. He shrugged,

"Of course,"

"Why? Because I'm half-blood? Because I'm a girl? Because I'm half bred?" Malfoy put a hand on CJ's shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off with barely more than a twitch.

"Calm it down, C." She chose to ignore him.

"Well listen to me, all of those things are what makes me better than you. Kinder than you. More understanding than you. Faster than you. Stronger than you. And if you disagree or have a problem with that, well then you just come and find me at the next full moon, then we'll see." She snarled, meeting his iron gaze with her green one. He looked away instantly. "That's what I thought." She smirked, stalking off to grab her guitar. During the exchange, the whole room had frozen, staring at them in anticipation of bloodshed. Now they became animated, chatting amongst themselves. Malfoy instantly took control.

"The pack meeting is officially over. We'll meet in the usual place at the full moon." Everyone rapidly began to file from the room, including an angry looking Flint. Once everyone, apart from CJ had left, the tension bled from Malfoy's shoulders and he fell onto the sofa next to CJ. "Fucking hell C, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days." He cursed, rubbing his eyes. She shrugged. Obvious, that they had forgotten her, Hermione began to head towards her dorm, just needing to sleep. Her day had been considerably worse than she had expected. She'd been thrown full force into a strange, alien world. A world that terrified her. A world that hated her. And she was all alone.


	4. Chapter 7

Smells like teen spirit chapter 7.

Hermione was attempting to tame her hair when she heard a knock on her door. She frowned. What was Malfoy doing knocking on her bedroom door at quarter to 8 in the morning? She opened the door and started with surprise. CJ was stood smiling at her, with a rucksack thrown casually over one shoulder.

"Hey?" Hermione greeted, somewhat confused. Why on earth was she here?

"Hey, look, weird request, I know. But can I use your shower? The prince of perfect has been in his bathroom for over an hour and a half, and I seriously need to get ready before breakfast." Hermione nodded, stepping aside to let her in. "thanks, you're a life saver." Hermione just smiled back, still confused. She'd never taken CJ to be one of Malfoy's sluts. She showed CJ where everything was, lent her a towel and left her to have a shower, while she finished off preparing for an Ancient Runes debate later. No more than 15 minutes later, CJ came out of the bathroom clad in her robes. She pulled a face as she saw them in the mirror.

"Urgh, one thing that I have NOT missed about this place is these things." Hermione nodded her agreement, going back to trying to tame the mess of frizz called her hair. CJ, brushing her own, noticed. "Want a hand?" she offered, setting her own brush down. Hermione looked at her in the mirror and nodded.

"Please, I have no idea how to tame it. God knows I've been trying for years." CJ laughed and took the brush from Hermione and began to show her a simple hair spell that would smooth out the frizz for the day. Afterwards, she separated the layers and set about straightening it, explaining that straightening would help the spell last longer.

"Ta-da!" She exclaimed, setting the brush down and stepping back to admire her handiwork. Hermione was surprised, her hair hadn't looked so good since the Yule ball in fourth year and then she'd spent two hours arguing with it. CJ had spent less than 20 minutes on it.

"You're a genius CJ." Smiled Hermione. CJ just shrugged.

"Nah, it's nothing." She replied, stretching. "Awww man, that sofa kills your back." Hermione looked at her in surprise.

"Sofa?"

"Yeah, I had no intention of heading to my new dorm in the Slytherin quarter last night after riling up Flint like that, it would have been a recipe for disaster." She looked at Hermione and smiled. "did you think that I'd stayed with The Prince?" She laughed good naturedly as Hermione looked away, blushing. "Oh sweetie. Draco's more of a brother to me than anything else. Besides, he's a jerk to girls. I'd never fuck him just to say that I have like all of those other girls." She explained, starting to straighten her own hair into the flicked out style that she seemed to prefer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or…" began Hermione.

"I know you didn't. it's fine. Don't worry about it. It's only a natural assumption when you share living space with him." CJ cut her off, smiling wryly. "Can you hand me my rucksack?" Hermione nodded, passing CJ the bag. Hermione watched in fascination as CJ began to pull out more make-up than Hermione had owned in her lifetime and began to apply it expertly.

"How come you're so good at hair and make-up?" She asked , shaking her head in astonishment as CJ started to blacken her eyes.

"A hell of a lot of time on the road." She replied, thickening her eyeliner. That shocked Hermione.

"You're in a band?" CJ just nodded. "Awesome." This time CJ smiled. "that where you've been this past year?" CJ froze in the middle of applying a bright red lip gloss.

"And here was me thinking that you didn't remember me." Hermione shrugged.

"I couldn't place where I'd seen you at first, but it just clicked. Besides, everyone knows CJ Jenson. Your reputation as a bitch and trouble maker worse than the Weasley twins precedes you. No offence." CJ laughed before continuing to apply her lip-gloss.

"None taken, it's true. I am a total bitch at times." She shook her hair out and stood. "Thanks for the use of the shower. Wanna go and grab some breakfast?" Hermione nodded, glad that she had made a friend within the Slytherin ranks. They headed downstairs together, CJ grabbing her guitar case as she passed it. She stopped just before the portrait. "hang on a second." She grinned and doubled back to Malfoy's bedroom door. A look of disbelief crossed her face. "He's still in the shower!" She nudged the door open slightly and slipped through the crack, leaving her bad and guitar case outside. "Give me a minute." She whispered sneaking into his room. A moment later, Hermione heard a high pitched squeal and CJ came high-tailing it out of Malfoy's room. "Quick, come on." She grabbed her stuff and vaulted out of the portrait with Hermione close by. They left behind a cold and very angry Draco Malfoy.


	5. Chapter 8

Smells like teen spirit chapter 8.

CJ and Hermione were still laughing as they sat down at the Slytherin table. Many of the Slytherins were sending them both death glares. While Hermione shrank under the glares, CJ returned them, staring them down until they returned their attention to their breakfast and friends.

"How do you do that?" Asked Hermione, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. CJ took a gulp of her herbal tea and smiled at her.

"It's part of being dominant. Even humans acknowledge the dominance within wolves. They feel the effects. Eye contact reinforces that dominance. You, however, as an omega are immune to the effects of dominance from other wolves. You can feel it, sense it, but are not subjected to it. That is one of the key factors that define omegas." She explained, piling her plate high with pancakes and covering them with fruit. She glanced at Hermione, who was watching her with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "Let me guess you're wondering how I know, right?" Hermione nodded. Before CJ could reply a shadow fell over them. They both looked up to see a scowling Malfoy looking down at them. CJ simply grinned at him.

"Morning boss man, pancake?" She offered a pancake with banana on a fork to him. His scowl deepened. She shrugged and shoved it in her mouth.

"I take it that I should be blaming you for my cold shower this morning." He drawled, not taking his eyes off CJ. CJ said nothing but took another gulp of herbal tea. "I highly doubt that Granger came up with such a greatly amusing idea. But you, my darling second, are a devious, sneaky little minx." CJ's grin became devilish.

"All wonderful reasons why you love me." She shot out of her seat to land a small peck on Malfoy's cheek before turning her attention back to her breakfast. Malfoy gave her a look that would have withered a lesser person.

"Hmph. I'm watching you Jenson. " He stalked off to the other end of the table,

"I wouldn't expect anything else." She replied. "Oh and Draco," He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "you have a lovely pair of vocal chords on you." A stony look settled over his face and he stomped off. To the sound of both CJ and Hermione cackling madly.

Hermione hesitated before entering the dungeons. It was her first class with Harry and Ron since she had been transferred. She still hadn't explained things to them. How could she? How could she tell them that she had left for the summer human and come back a monster. She just couldn't force the words werewolf out of her mouth, no matter how hard she tried. CJ put a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax Hermione. If they're really your best friends they won't have a problem with it. Come on. Slughorn will go mad if we're late." CJ half coaxed, half dragged Hermione towards the potions room. She glanced at Hermione just before entering. She was deathly pale. This was obviously hard for her. "Remember to breathe, will ya? I don't really fancy testing my resuscitation skills today." Hermione cracked a small smile at that, which was the goal. CJ smiled and linked arms with Hermione, giving her no choice but to enter the half full classroom. Everyone stopped and regarded both of them with quiet curiosity to begin with. Then the whispering began. Hermione caught the odd half sentence here and there.

"…heard that she was secretly a death eater…"

"…Wonder what she has to do with that bitch CJ…"

"Recovered from the sudden change quickly…" CJ resolutely ignored all the whispers and lead Hermione to one of the front desks, just in front of Harry and Ron. Hermione sank down into her seat, trying to avoid all of the stares she was getting, from the curious ones coming from directly behind her, to the downright hateful ones coming from the Slytherin side of the room. About 5 minutes passed before Hermione felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see Ron and Harry smiling hesitantly at her. She returned the smile.

"Hey Hermione, not seen you around for a few days. You alright?" asked Ron. She shrugged.

"I know, our classes are so different now, but I've been as good as can be expected. It's easier having a separate dorm." She replied, shifting in her seat slightly. Harry nodded his agreement.

"It's strange not seeing you around every day. Ron's virtually dying without your help. I think that he's moved into the library." Hermione laughed.

"That'll please Madame Prince." Ron grimaced.

"That woman hates me." He grumbled. Next to Hermione, CJ laughed.

"You'll get used to it." She rocked her chair back on its legs, so that it was resting against Harry and Ron's table. "She's hated me my whole school life and I doubt that it'll ever change." They both laughed and looked at Hermione, waiting for an introduction.

"Guys this is CJ Jenson. CJ, this is Harry and Ron." They both froze.

"As in THE CJ Jenson?" CJ nodded and laughed again.

"The one and only." It was at that moment that Slughorn chose to waddle into the room and begin the lesson.

"Welcome ladies and gents. Today I'll be assessing your skills to assure myself that none has lost their edge over the summer." He glanced around the room, smiling broadly at everyone. "You'll be preparing a healing draught for someone with dragon warts. Instructions can be found on page 115 of your text books. Good luck." And that was the end of all conversation with Hermione, who dived immediately into her potion work.

"See you around Hermione," Smiled Ron, a hint of sadness touching his eyes. Hermione swallowed back tears and hugged both him and Harry.

"Of course. If you need me to help you with anything , just come find me." She smiled once more and turned to head to her next lesson. She paused and turned back. "Aren't you curious to know why I was moved into Slytherin?" Both and Ron looked at each other and nodded.

"Of course are Hermione. But we know that you'll tell us when you're ready. It's hard, but we'll wait for you to be ready to tell us. That's what best friends do." Replied Harry. This time Hermione couldn't hold back the tears and threw herself back into her best friend's arms.


	6. Chapter 9

Smells like teen spirit chapter 9.

Hermione walked into her common room that evening to find Malfoy, CJ and Blaise sat around in front of the fire. CJ had her guitar leaning against the sofa next to her, as she stretched out across the floor, using a beanbag as a pillow. Blaise was spread across an arm chair, legs hanging over the arm nearest the fire. Malfoy was stretched out across the sofa, arms behind his head, totally shirtless.

"Hey Hermione, come join us." Called CJ, making Hermione to tear her eyes away from Malfoy's chest. Thankfully he didn't seem to have noticed her staring.

"I really should head up to bed." She replied, forcing her feet onwards towards her room.

"Come on Hermione, you've spent all day either in class or at the library working. Come and relax a bit. Besides, it's only half seven and I'll bet that you haven't eaten yet." CJ's last words caused Hermione's stomach to grumble. Hermione frowned.

"I'm starving." She admitted, smiling ruefully. "I used to be able to skip meals." Blaise laughed.

"It's the change, we all eat like pigs. We burn energy quicker, so we need to eat more." Hermione sighed.

"Figures." CJ realised what was bothering Hermione.

"Don't worry, being a wolf makes it really difficult to gain weight. Come on. Come chill." She slapped Malfoy's feet. "Draco! Move your disgusting feet. No-one wants to sit next to them." He growled at her but sat up so that Hermione could sit down. Hermione perched nervously on the end of the sofa, noticing for the first time the huge spread of food on the floor. The house elves were too nice for their own good. She slipped off the sofa and began to help herself to food as CJ began to absently strum the guitar, checking the tuning. As she settled back onto the sofa, she glanced at Malfoy again.

"Would you like to stop staring at me?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Would you like to put a shirt on?" She countered, sipping her coke. CJ and Blaise both laughed.

"You'll get used to it, darlin', our beloved Alpha does so love to flash his body at any opportunity he gets." Blaise informed, grabbing a handful of crisps from the nearest plate. Hermione rolled her eyes in response. However, to everyone's surprise Malfoy leaned down and grabbed his white shirt, pulling it on but leaving the front undone. CJ looked at him with raised eyebrows, earning her a scowl. She snorted softly to herself, setting herself a mental reminded to talk to him in charms tomorrow. She adjusted her A string and began to play _Hey there Delilah_. Hermione looked up, recognising the song. She watched the ease at which CJ played with amazement, her fingers just seemed to skip effortlessly across the frets and strings. She had a good voice too. Hermione sighed inwardly as she swallowed a bite of cheese sandwich. CJ was everything that she wanted to be, confident, funny, easy going, effortlessly smart, talented and amazingly good looking. Next to her Malfoy shifted. Hermione glanced up to see that he was staring at her. His mesmerising blue eyes seemed to be staring deep into her soul. It was as if he knew everything that she had just been thinking. With and effort she tore her eyes away from his in time to clap for CJ as she finished.

"You're amazing CJ, I never knew that you played." CJ just shrugged.

"I knew the basics, but then I met an amazing teacher." She looked down at her red finger nails and swallowed, fighting back tears. Hermione frowned.

"CJ? I didn't mean to upset you, I…" Malfoy cut her off.

"Don't stress Granger, it wasn't anything you said. C's going through a tough time at the minute, which has nothing to do with you and pretty much everything to do with me dragging her back here and her…" CJ's look cut him off abruptly.

"Yes, thank you Draco. I can talk for myself." She snapped, glaring at him. He shrugged and laid back down again. CJ inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. "Sorry Hermione, it was nothing that you said." She set her guitar to one side and got up. "Can I use your bathroom?" Hermione nodded.

"Of course you can. I'll come with you." As Hermione got up, Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Girls, they always have to travel to the bathroom in packs." Malfoy chuckled as the two girls headed upstairs.

CJ sat heavily on Hermione's bed and covered her face with her hands.

"CJ? What's wrong? Talk to me." Commanded Hermione, sitting down next to her friend. Subconsciously she was giving out the soothing energy that gave Omega's their reputation. CJ straightened up and looked at Hermione.

"Sorry, I …" She ran a hand through her already messy hair. "I'm just having a tough time at the minute." Hermione smiled gently.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." CJ shook her head.

"No, you're my friend. You have a right to know. I need to talk about it anyway. Even the two downstairs don't know everything." CJ breathed in and began. "First of all, when Draco discovered what you were, he asked me to come back. That's the reason I'm here." Hermione was stunned.

"What? Why?"

"Because he doesn't know much about Omega's. I do. Also he knows that after everything he's done to you, that it's going to take a lot to overcome that and his fucking stupid prejudices. I was in America when he called me."

"Whoa? He knows how to use a phone?" CJ laughed and shook her head.

"No. when I say called, I mean through the pack bonds. I didn't actually know what he wanted until I got here. All I knew that I was commanded by my alpha to come back. My boyfriend was up in New York at the time, while I was in Southern California with my band. I couldn't just leave without telling him, so I apparated up to New York to see him before I left and explain what was going on." CJ paused briefly before continuing. "He was on tour with the rest of his band. I've been on tour with them before so I knew what to expect, I guess…" Hermione cut her off.

"C," She unwittingly adopted Malfoy's nickname for her. "You're rambling." CJ shook her head.

"Sorry. Anyway, I walked in on him having sex with another girl. I didn't even stay for an explanation. I just turned around and walked out. I came straight here." Tears were running freely down her cheeks, leaving faded eyeliner marks behind them. "He doesn't know where I am. None of them do." Hermione heard the pain in CJ's voice and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, ssshhh. It's ok." Eventually CJ pulled away.

"Thank you Hermione. I just needed someone to talk to. I only told the guys that we'd had a fight."

"Nothing to thank me for." Replied Hermione, smiling. CJ laughed and stood up.

"They'll be wondering what's taking us so long." She quickly wiped away her tear tracks and opened the door.

"Maybe you're better off without him." Commented Hermione as they headed downstairs. CJ just shook her head.

"No. I love him."

Once they were back downstairs, CJ acted like nothing was wrong and settled back down with her guitar, playing a mixture of acoustic songs. Some she'd written herself, some that were well known. They all laughed most of the night away. Even Hermione was comfortable sat so close to Malfoy, who had shifted along the sofa. In fact she was quite enjoying it. His arm was resting on the sofa behind her. She could feel the warmth from his body against her side. Eventually CJ and Blaise left to head back to their own dorms, leaving Hermione and Malfoy alone. He made no attempt to move, so Hermione decided that she was going to have to.

"I should head upstairs. It's late." She began to rise, but Malfoy's hand on her arm stopped her. He spoke only one word.

"Stay." She shook her head.

"I can't. I've got to read three chapters for Ancient Runes tomorrow." Still, Malfoy's hand didn't move.

"Read it down here. I won't distract you." His voice was soft and gentle. "Besides, reading it down here with company has got to be better than being sat alone in a cold room." Without knowing that came over her, Hermione nodded.

"I'll just go and get the book." She stood and hurried upstairs to grab her ancient runes textbook. She curled up on the end of the sofa where she had been sat previously. She'd got about two pages into her set reading before Malfoy moved. He reached over and swivelled her round until her back was to him, then pulled her back against his chest. One of his legs dangled lazily off the side of the sofa, with the other between Hermione and the sofa cushions. Although it was surprisingly comfortable, Hermione froze. This was not what she had been expecting.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" She asked, her voice nervous. He chuckled.

"Relax Hermione, I'm not going to hurt you. Just read." He replied, his breath teasing Hermione's ear. "And call me Draco. Malfoy is so impersonal." Hermione remained tense, but gradually she began to relax as she began to read. Draco's arms gently wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. As she read, he closed his eyes and quietly breathed in her scent. Being around her relaxed him. He knew it was the omega, but he just couldn't help himself. As an alpha, there was rarely a chance to relax. So as he saw one, he grabbed it with both arms. Literally. Sleep began to grip Hermione. She was so tired. So comfortable, so relaxed. It was so easy just to drift off to sleep. The book fell from her grip and hit the floor with a soft thud. Draco looked down at her and smiled. She looked beautiful. Her head had fallen slightly sideways and was resting in his chest. He had always found her attractive, ever since the Yule ball. His constant barrage of hate and scorn when she was around was just a front as he tried to deny how much he was attracted to her. But recently, as he'd gotten to know the new her, the changed her, he was starting to admit to himself that he was drawn to her. He smiled again and gently eased out from behind her, laying her down on the sofa. He entered his bedroom and came back out with a soft blanket. The fire would die soon and she'd get cold. He softly covered her with the blanket and crouched down in front of her, tucking a loose lock of soft, smooth hair back behind one of her ears. He smiled again as he watched her sleep. Leaning forwards, he delicately pressed his lips lightly to hers, careful not to wake her.

"Sleep tight Angel." He breathed, standing and heading to his own dorm.


	7. Chapter 10

Smells like teen spirit chapter 10.

The months flew by and Christmas was rapidly approaching. Everywhere at Hogwarts was buzzing with anticipation as students exchanged cards and gifts and discussed their plans for the holidays. CJ was practically bouncing with excitement as she entered the head boy and girl's common room. She'd become a regular feature there and it hardly surprised Hermione anymore when she just randomly appeared. She presumed that Draco informed her when the password changed as she never seemed to have any trouble getting in. Hermione hardly glanced up from her essay. Draco merely grunted when he was forced to move from his usual position across the sofa.

"I _cannot_ wait for next week." She practically squealed, waving a piece of paper in the air. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"What's wrong with you? You hate Christmas, you have as long as I've known you." He commented. She replied by simply thrusting the piece of parchment under his nose and waving it some more. Hermione glanced up in time to see him smile and nod. "I should have guessed." He mumbled, handing the letter back to her. Curiosity got the better of Hermione.

"What's going on?"

"One of the guys in my band, Will, has organised some dates for us to play over Christmas. I'M GOING ON FUCKING TOUR AGAIN!" Hermione smiled happily. She knew how much CJ loved being on tour and how difficult it was for her to stay here at Hogwarts.

"That's amazing, you'll have a great time, C."

"So, whatcha doing for your holidays?" Asked CJ, resting her feet across Draco. Hermione shrugged.

"Not really. I think that we're visiting my mother's family this year." She replied. CJ simply narrowed her eyes.

"Don't lie to me Hermione." Hermione looked up sharply.

"How…" She trailed off, in shock.

"All of us are skilled at different things, but as you get used to your new senses as a wolf, you'll realise that small signs such as pulse, scent and voice tone will indicate when someone is lying. CJ is particularly good at it, so I wouldn't recommend lying to her." CJ just shrugged.

"Blame my father, whoever he was. Now what are you trying to lie to us about?" Hermione sighed.

"My parents are going to visit my mother's family for Christmas, I'm staying here." CJ and Draco both frowned.

"What, why?"

"It's the full moon over the holidays." Shrugged Hermione, going back to her transfiguration essay. CJ seemed to accept her explanation with a soft smile and small nod. Draco, however, was a little less understanding.

"Angel, the moon and the change doesn't control your life. The change is just something that happens once a month, nothing more, nothing less. It's nothing to be scared or frightened of. Just enjoy it." Hermione stood, gathering her stuff.

"You don't understand. You never will." She whispered, turning and running up the stairs to her dorm before the tears could fall from her misty eyes. Behind her, Draco was perplexed.

"What did I do?" CJ scowled at him and rolled her eyes, already following Hermione upstairs.

"Men, you never learn."

Christmas flew round unbelievably quickly. To Hermione's surprise, Draco was remaining at Hogwarts for Christmas. He'd told her that his parents had gone abroad for Christmas and he didn't want to join them and although she'd tried to follow CJ's advice and listen for a lie, she just couldn't get the hang of it. She was doing some extra credit work for professor Sprout when Draco emerged from his bedroom, half naked, as usual. Hermione had sort of got used to it, but that didn't stop her complaining.

"Shirt." She automatically said, hardly looking up.

"One step ahead of you." He replied, pulling a white t-shirt over his head. He sat on the sofa next to her and rested his feet on the table.

"Do you mind?" Snapped Hermione as she realised that her books were underneath his poisonous feet.

"Nope." He replied smirking. She sighed and continued with her work. "So what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing."

"What? It's Christmas eve, you have to do something."

"Well, I'm not."

"You are now. Be ready at six. Meet me here." Draco declared getting to his feet and heading out the portrait. Hermione froze. Had Draco Malfoy just asked her on a date?

Hermione fiddled nervously with her hair as she checked her reflection for the fifth time in the mirror. It was ten to six and she had been a nervous wreck for the past four hours. She had no idea what to wear, since Draco had kindly decided not to tell her where they were going. Eventually after emptying her entire closet, she had decided on a mid-length silver dress with a black lace top and thin straps and black leggings with silver dots. She put on a pair of low black heels with a rose over the toes that her, CJ and Ginny had got when they went shopping in Hogsmeade a few weeks ago. To complete the outfit she had been going to put on a silver butterfly necklace, only to discover that she couldn't pick it up. She'd forgotten that Draco had told her that werewolves were allergic to silver. It left them with severe burns if it came in contact with their skin. She sighed and didn't bother with jewellery at all. She'd curled her hair how CJ had showed her, and applied light make-up with a little black eyeliner and a dark silver eye shadow. Now here she was stood in front of the mirror, trying to force herself to open the door and go downstairs. She just couldn't force herself to do it. She'd really started to think about Draco differently. She'd seen another side of him, a softer, caring, almost likeable side. And it scared her. She eventually realised that it was five past six and started to panic, realising that she was late. She grabbed a small black over the shoulder bag that she'd filled with the essentials and a thin black cardigan. Checking her reflection once more, she opened the door and hurried downstairs.

Draco heard her coming down the stairs and turned to look at her. He felt his heart rate quicken. She looked amazing in that outfit. Realising that he was staring, he smiled at Hermione and walked forwards.

"You look amazing Angel." She blushed and smiled back. "Just one thing." He turned and headed into his room, coming back out with a black leather jacket and a wrapped box. He handed the jacket to Hermione. "You might get cold later."

"Thanks." She whispered, unable to believe that Draco had just given her a jacket.

"Also, I was going to wait till tomorrow to give you this, but…" He trailed off and passed her the box. She carefully unwrapped it and opened the box to find a black rose pendant. Draco was watching her intently.

"Do you like it? CJ found it for me. The company she got it from doesn't use any silver, so…" Hermione cut him off.

"Draco it's beautiful." She breathed, touching it gently. "Put it on for me?" She held the box out to him. He took it from her and brushed her hair over her shoulder so that he could fasten the necklace. Once finished, he briefly kissed her neck and took her hand.

"Come on Angel, we don't want to be late." She frowned as he began to pull her towards the fire place.

"Where are we going?" He just grinned and grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"You'll see." With a sudden jerk, he pulled her into the fireplace and dropped the floo powder.

Hermione was prevented from falling only by Draco, who grabbed her by the waist as they arrived at their destination. She smiled at him and ran a hand through her hair. She hated travelling by floo powder. Draco caught her hand and brought it up to his lips, gently kissing it.

"Angel, you look perfect. Stop fussing." He let go of her hand and led her towards a large set of doors Hermione looked around. It looked like Draco had brought her to some sleazy, second rate bar or club. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Please tell me that this is not where we are spending our Christmas Eve?" He just laughed and stopped in front of a man mountain.

"Tickets." He grunted. Draco pulled two tickets out of his back pocket and handed them to the guy, who checked them grunted again and opened the door. Hermione let herself be pulled through the doors, stopping suddenly as she saw the stage and small crowd that was starting to gather.

"We're seeing a band?" She guessed, raising her eyebrows at Draco. He grinned.

"Technically yes, but Scars aren't just any band. They're not only one of the best live bands that I've ever heard, they're also CJ's band." Hermione's eyes widened.

"No way?" Draco nodded happily.

"Yep, this is their last gig before they take a couple of days off and head up to Scotland." Before Hermione could reply, the lights began to dim and the crowd began to cheer. The lights on the stage began to flash and a cover of My Chemical Romance's _The only hope for me is you_ began to play. A male guitarist began to sing. The chorus started and CJ ran onstage, making Hermione's jaw drop. She couldn't quite believe that the girl onstage was CJ. She looked totally different. She was wearing an incredibly short dress that also showed an exceptional amount of cleavage, a leather jacket and at least seven inch heels. (A/N: think Taylor Momsen but with short red hair) her make-up was much heavier than usual, but she still managed to look perfect. Hermione watched in envy as CJ moved around the stage flawlessly. The song ended to huge amounts of cheering and applause. The band launched instantly into another song that Hermione didn't recognise, she presumed that it was one of their own. It had a great beat and amazing lyrics that suited CJ's voice perfectly. As the finished, CJ walked to the side of the stage and was handed a red and silver bass. As the current bassist took his bass off and handed it to the tech. They began to play another song that Hermione didn't recognise, this time with the bassist singing. Draco leaned in close to Hermione so that she could hear him over the song.

"This is one of the best things about Scars, they all sing and they all play guitar, bass and drums. CJ and Will, the guy playing guitar at the moment, also play piano." He shouted. Hermione nodded, that explained the sudden change in bassists and vocalists. They were amazing, and relatively well known by some of the crowd there.

"So y'all know that everything we do up here comes from the fucking heart right? This music, every lyric, every beat. It comes from this mother fucking heart and these three other hearts. I love these guys." CJ paused to look at the guys on stage and laughed as one of the guys said something unintelligible to the crowd to her. "This next song, is our last song this evening, it's about being down at the bottom and fighting your way back to find yourself. This song is called Scars." The crowd immediately began to cheer and sing along.

"I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
>My weakness is that I care too much<br>My scars remind me that the past is real  
>I tear my heart open just to feel<br>Drunk and I'm feeling down  
>And I just wanna be alone<br>I'm pissed 'cause you came around  
>Why don't you just go home<br>Cause you channel all your pain  
>And I can't help you fix yourself<br>Your making me insane  
>All I can say is<br>I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
>My weakness is that I care too much and<br>Our scars remind us that the past is real  
>I tear my heart open just to feelfrom: .comlyrics/p/papa_ ]  
>I tried to help you once<br>Against my own advise  
>I saw you going down<br>But you never realized  
>That your drowning in the water<br>So I offered you my hand  
>Compassion's in my nature<br>Tonight is our last stand  
>I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut<br>My weakness is that I care too much and  
>Our scars remind us that the past is real<br>I tear my heart open just to feel  
>I'm drunk and I'm feeling down<br>And I just wanna be alone  
>You shouldn't ever came around<br>Why don't you just go home?  
>Cause your drowning in the water<br>And I tried to grab your hand  
>And I left my heart open<br>But you didn't understand  
>[But you didn't understand]<br>Go fix yourself  
>I can't help you fix yourself<br>But at least I can say I tried  
>I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life<br>I can't help you fix yourself  
>But at least I can say I tried<br>I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life  
>I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut<br>My weakness is that I care too much and  
>Our scars remind us that the past is real<br>I tear my heart open just to feel  
>I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut<br>My weakness is that I care too much and  
>Our scars remind us that the past is real<br>I tear my heart open just to feel." The band played the last few notes while screaming out their thank-you's and ran off stage to huge amounts of cheering. Draco took Hermione's hand and lead her to a side door. He showed the security guy the tickets and guided Hermione backstage, where they were met by an ecstatic, sweaty CJ.

"Oh my god, you guys came!" Draco managed to dodge the hug, but Hermione was quick enough. She wrinkled her nose as the sweaty smell surrounded her.

"Thanks for that C. You guys were amazing…" CJ didn't hear anything that Hermione was saying after that, a movement had caught her eye at the backstage door. She froze as she recognised who was stood there.

"Hey guys, you reckon that you could help the guys pack up? I gotta go." She mumbled. Both Draco and Hermione nodded and CJ disapparated instantly. Hermione frowned, looking at Draco.

"What's up with her?" Draco sighed, he'd also seen the movement.

"There's only one thing that I can think of that would make her react like that." Hermione's expression changed to curious. "Hey boyfriend's back."


	8. Chapter 11

Hermione fiddled nervously with her hair as she checked her reflection for the fifth time in the mirror. It was ten to six and she had been a nervous wreck for the past four hours. She had no idea what to wear, since Draco had kindly decided not to tell her where they were going. Eventually after emptying her entire closet, she had decided on a mid-length silver dress with a black lace top and thin straps and black leggings with silver dots. She put on a pair of low black heels with a rose over the toes that her, CJ and Ginny had got when they went shopping in Hogsmeade a few weeks ago. To complete the outfit she had been going to put on a silver butterfly necklace, only to discover that she couldn't pick it up. She'd forgotten that Draco had told her that werewolves were allergic to silver. It left them with severe burns if it came in contact with their skin. She sighed and didn't bother with jewellery at all. She'd curled her hair how CJ had showed her, and applied light make-up with a little black eyeliner and a dark silver eye shadow. Now here she was stood in front of the mirror, trying to force herself to open the door and go downstairs. She just couldn't force herself to do it. She'd really started to think about Draco differently. She'd seen another side of him, a softer, caring, almost likeable side. And it scared her. She eventually realised that it was five past six and started to panic, realising that she was late. She grabbed a small black over the shoulder bag that she'd filled with the essentials and a thin black cardigan. Checking her reflection once more, she opened the door and hurried downstairs.

Draco heard her coming down the stairs and turned to look at her. He felt his heart rate quicken. She looked amazing in that outfit. Realising that he was staring, he smiled at Hermione and walked forwards.

"You look amazing Angel." She blushed and smiled back. "Just one thing." He turned and headed into his room, coming back out with a black leather jacket and a wrapped box. He handed the jacket to Hermione. "You might get cold later."

"Thanks." She whispered, unable to believe that Draco had just given her a jacket.

"Also, I was going to wait till tomorrow to give you this, but…" He trailed off and passed her the box. She carefully unwrapped it and opened the box to find a black rose pendant. Draco was watching her intently.

"Do you like it? CJ found it for me. The company she got it from doesn't use any silver, so…" Hermione cut him off.

"Draco it's beautiful." She breathed, touching it gently. "Put it on for me?" She held the box out to him. He took it from her and brushed her hair over her shoulder so that he could fasten the necklace. Once finished, he briefly kissed her neck and took her hand.

"Come on Angel, we don't want to be late." She frowned as he began to pull her towards the fire place.

"Where are we going?" He just grinned and grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"You'll see." With a sudden jerk, he pulled her into the fireplace and dropped the floo powder.

Hermione was prevented from falling only by Draco, who grabbed her by the waist as they arrived at their destination. She smiled at him and ran a hand through her hair. She hated travelling by floo powder. Draco caught her hand and brought it up to his lips, gently kissing it.

"Angel, you look perfect. Stop fussing." He let go of her hand and led her towards a large set of doors Hermione looked around. It looked like Draco had brought her to some sleazy, second rate bar or club. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Please tell me that this is not where we are spending our Christmas Eve?" He just laughed and stopped in front of a man mountain.

"Tickets." He grunted. Draco pulled two tickets out of his back pocket and handed them to the guy, who checked them grunted again and opened the door. Hermione let herself be pulled through the doors, stopping suddenly as she saw the stage and small crowd that was starting to gather.

"We're seeing a band?" She guessed, raising her eyebrows at Draco. He grinned.

"Technically yes, but Scars aren't just any band. They're not only one of the best live bands that I've ever heard, they're also CJ's band." Hermione's eyes widened.

"No way?" Draco nodded happily.

"Yep, this is their last gig before they take a couple of days off and head up to Scotland." Before Hermione could reply, the lights began to dim and the crowd began to cheer. The lights on the stage began to flash and a cover of My Chemical Romance's The only hope for me is you began to play. A male guitarist began to sing. The chorus started and CJ ran onstage, making Hermione's jaw drop. She couldn't quite believe that the girl onstage was CJ. She looked totally different. She was wearing an incredibly short dress that also showed an exceptional amount of cleavage, a leather jacket and at least seven inch heels. (A/N: think Taylor Momsen but with short red hair) her make-up was much heavier than usual, but she still managed to look perfect. Hermione watched in envy as CJ moved around the stage flawlessly. The song ended to huge amounts of cheering and applause. The band launched instantly into another song that Hermione didn't recognise, she presumed that it was one of their own. It had a great beat and amazing lyrics that suited CJ's voice perfectly. As the finished, CJ walked to the side of the stage and was handed a red and silver bass. As the current bassist took his bass off and handed it to the tech. They began to play another song that Hermione didn't recognise, this time with the bassist singing. Draco leaned in close to Hermione so that she could hear him over the song.

"This is one of the best things about Scars, they all sing and they all play guitar, bass and drums. CJ and Will, the guy playing guitar at the moment, also play piano." He shouted. Hermione nodded, that explained the sudden change in bassists and vocalists. They were amazing, and relatively well known by some of the crowd there.

"So y'all know that everything we do up here comes from the fucking heart right? This music, every lyric, every beat. It comes from this mother fucking heart and these three other hearts. I love these guys." CJ paused to look at the guys on stage and laughed as one of the guys said something unintelligible to the crowd to her. "This next song, is our last song this evening, it's about being down at the bottom and fighting your way back to find yourself. This song is called Scars." The crowd immediately began to cheer and sing along.

"I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut

My weakness is that I care too much

My scars remind me that the past is real

I tear my heart open just to feel

Drunk and I'm feeling down

And I just wanna be alone

I'm pissed 'cause you came around

Why don't you just go home

Cause you channel all your pain

And I can't help you fix yourself

Your making me insane

All I can say is

I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut

My weakness is that I care too much and

Our scars remind us that the past is real

I tear my heart open just to feelfrom: .com/lyrics/p/papa_ ]

I tried to help you once

Against my own advise

I saw you going down

But you never realized

That your drowning in the water

So I offered you my hand

Compassion's in my nature

Tonight is our last stand

I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut

My weakness is that I care too much and

Our scars remind us that the past is real

I tear my heart open just to feel

I'm drunk and I'm feeling down

And I just wanna be alone

You shouldn't ever came around

Why don't you just go home?

Cause your drowning in the water

And I tried to grab your hand

And I left my heart open

But you didn't understand

[But you didn't understand]

Go fix yourself

I can't help you fix yourself

But at least I can say I tried

I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life

I can't help you fix yourself

But at least I can say I tried

I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life

I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut

My weakness is that I care too much and

Our scars remind us that the past is real

I tear my heart open just to feel

I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut

My weakness is that I care too much and

Our scars remind us that the past is real

I tear my heart open just to feel." The band played the last few notes while screaming out their thank-you's and ran off stage to huge amounts of cheering. Draco took Hermione's hand and lead her to a side door. He showed the security guy the tickets and guided Hermione backstage, where they were met by an ecstatic, sweaty CJ.

"Oh my god, you guys came!" Draco managed to dodge the hug, but Hermione was quick enough. She wrinkled her nose as the sweaty smell surrounded her.

"Thanks for that C. You guys were amazing…" CJ didn't hear anything that Hermione was saying after that, a movement had caught her eye at the backstage door. She froze as she recognised who was stood there.

"Hey guys, you reckon that you could help the guys pack up? I gotta go." She mumbled. Both Draco and Hermione nodded and CJ disapparated instantly. Hermione frowned, looking at Draco.

"What's up with her?" Draco sighed, he'd also seen the movement.

"There's only one thing that I can think of that would make her react like that." Hermione's expression changed to curious. "Hey boyfriend's back."


	9. Chapter 12

Smells like teen spirit chapter 12.

It was almost midnight by the time that Draco and Hermione got into CJ's house. Well house was an inadequate term, thought Hermione, surveying the mansion that Draco had apparated them to. After helping the rest of the band pack up the equipment, they'd stopped at the pub opposite for a couple of drinks, since Draco wasn't in any hurry to get back and Hermione was really enjoying herself. She never really went out and certainly never went on dates. Draco opened the door to the mansion and gestured for her to enter first. She smiled and stepped into the entrance hall. It was huge and grand, with a large staircase leading to the upper floors. But most noticeable of all was the noise coming from upstairs. Hermione flinched as something crashed and broke. Draco groaned and began to lead Hermione further into the house.

"Dammit, I had hoped that this would be over by the time we got here. Sorry about this."

"What's going on?" She asked, kicking her shoes off and picking them up.

"CJ and Ben are working out their issues." Replied a strange guy, who was stood in the doorway to what seemed to be the kitchen. Hermione raised her eyebrows at the tall, muscular and heavily tattooed guy. A loud thump came from upstairs.

"_That_ is 'working out their issues'?" Her voice is heavy with contempt.

"Trust me darlin', this is nothing compared to some of their issue solving." Commented another voice, from the actual kitchen. A short guy with a dyed blonde Mohawk ducked under the other guy's arm and left the kitchen.

"Just ask Draco, he'll confirm that this is tame for them." He smiled, taking a swig of the beer in his hand. Hermione looked at Draco for conformation. He grimaced and nodded.

"Sorry to break it to you Angel, but they're right, this is relatively tame for one of their fights. CJ's got a bit of a temper." The strange guys laughed at that understatement. "Anyway, let me introduce you to Ben's band mates. Mark's the one in the doorway, this is Jake," He gestured to the Mohawk guy, who tipped his butterbeer bottle at her in greeting. "Zeke is behind Mark, in the kitchen." From the kitchen a guy with long dark hair covered by a bandana waved. "Where's Jamie?" Asked Draco, looking at Mark.

"Behind you." Replied a new voice, making Hermione jump about a foot in the air and shriek with alarm. Amused chuckles came from around her and her cheeks flushed bright red. "Sorry, didn't mean ta scare ya." Apologised Jamie.

"Jamie here is fond of practical jokes, so keep an eye on him." Advised Jake, laughing. "Angel, was it?" Hermione shook her head, wishing that Draco would stop calling her that.

"No, it's Hermione, Draco seems to call me Angel for a reason known only to himself." She replied, sending a long-suffering look at Draco, who just smirked in reply.

"Anyway, nice to …" Jake's comment was cut off by a particularly loud crash followed by a shout of pain from upstairs. Mark raised his eyebrows.

"Her aim's improving." He remarked, trying not to laugh.

"Or his dodging's getting worse." Added Zeke, sliding past Mark to exit the kitchen. "Doesn't seem like all that practicing is working." He handed a butterbeer to Draco, offered a second to Hermione who took it from him from him gratefully and threw a third to Jamie.

"Practising?" Asked Draco, taking a swig of butterbeer. Jamie snorted.

"Yeah, he thought that she was going to react like this, so he's had us throw random objects at him periodically over the past two weeks. Doesn't seem to be doing him much good." He added as another thud echoed around the house. They had all seemed to be drifting towards a living room furnished in white and black during the conversation and the boys all spread out over the numerous sofa's and armchairs. Hermione sat a little more delicately on one of the sofa's, only to be pulled back against Draco's chest. He seemed to be staring intently at the guys, who all nodded so minutely that Hermione didn't even notice. Gradually he began to relax and catch up with the guys. They were in the middle of talking about CJ's concert when they were interrupted by several thuds and shouting, this time considerably louder than before.

"AAHHHH! FOR FUCKS SAKE WOMAN ARE YOU TRYING TO RENDER ME INFERTILE?" Hermione presumed that the voice belonged to Ben.

"WELL IT WASN'T MY INTENTION, BUT NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO ME!" Screamed CJ, followed by a bang. "MAYBE IT'LL TEACH YOU TO KEEP YOUR FUCKING DICK IN YOUR PANTS!" Another bang came, this time followed by another shout of pain. The guys all snorted or sniggered as they tried to hold in their laughter.

"FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST CJ, JUST CALM DOWN!"

"CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN! YOU FUCKING CHEATED ON ME BEN. I WILL CALM DOWN WHEN I FUCKING FEEL LIKE IT, YOU LYING CHEATING RAT!" Crash.

"PUT THE DAMN LAMP DOWN C…." Another shout of pain followed and this time the guys couldn't hold in the laughter. The sounds of the fight faded back to background noise as the two of them moved further away.

"Aren't you worried for his safety?" Asked Hermione, more than slightly worried herself about Ben's wellbeing. Mark just snorted loudly, while Jake and Jamie just laughed even harder as a particularly high pitched shriek of pain sounded from upstairs. It was Zeke who replied.

"Nah not really. As long as she doesn't damage his fingers, we don't care. And from the sounds of it, it's not his fingers that she's aiming for." That set Jake and Jamie off again, while Mark just rolled his eyes.

"He brought it on himself anyway." Commented a new voice from the doorway. Everyone looked up as Will, one of the band members from Scars entered. Everyone mumbled a greeting as he sat down, taking a swig of the nearest butterbeer, earning him a glare from Jamie. "How long have they been at it?" He asked, handing the bottle back to the owner. Jake looked at the clock.

"A couple of hours, probably nearer three." Will shook his head as he grinned.

"Well, no-one can accuse CJ of giving in easily, let that be said for her."

It was another half an hour before Jamie cocked his head and smiled.

"Eh up, it's gone all quiet on the western front." He commented. All conversation stopped as everyone listened for the sounds of the fight that had been going on for the best part of four hours.

"That's it, she finally killed him." Laughed Zeke, clapping his hands together. "Better start searching for a new guitarist." Everyone laughed, then Mark became serious.

"He's got a point, someone should go check that she hasn't actually killed him." Everyone's eyes turned to Draco, who hastily shook his head.

"No fucking way. I know what they're like when they fight." Jamie was more relaxed than Mark.

"Chill dude, they're probably having sex. Just leave them, they'll come down soon enough."

True enough, the sounds of running water came from the kitchen about twenty minutes later and CJ entered the living room with a cup of steaming herbal tea in one hand and her other hand tucked into the back pocket of the guy who had his arm around her waist. Both of them looked more than a little ruffled around the edges. Jamie looked triumphant.

"HA! I told you that they were having sex!" He exclaimed, pointing at Mark. CJ just shook her head and sat down on the arm an empty armchair, with Ben in the actual seat. He reached up and slid her down onto his lap, where they happily began kissing. Will pulled a face.

"Urgh, please. You two are disgustingly fond of each other after a fight." He moaned. Ben looked up.

"That's because make up sex is the best sex." CJ laughed and swung her legs over the arm of the chair. Conversation went on as normal after that, everyone leaving the topic of CJ and Ben's fight to one side, apart from the odd joke. Hermione yawned.

"Oh god, Herms, I'm sorry. I totally forgot that you're not used to staying up this late!" Exclaimed CJ, moving to get off Ben's lap. "there's a guest bedroom made up for you. Come on, I'll show you." She went to get up but was cut off by Draco.

"Don't worry C, I'll show her where it is." He got to his feet and helped Hermione out of the squishy chairs.

"Cheers Blondie, you're the best." She grinned, moving back to her previous position. Draco glared at her.

"Watch it." He warned, heading out of the room with Hermione following. He took her through the maze of a house with surprising ease, stopping outside one of the doors. "here you go, Angel." He pushed the door open to reveal a fairly large suite painted and furnished in pale gold. "CJ's got some clothes in your size in the dresser, so don't panic." Hermione smiled and headed in, absolutely exhausted.  
>"Thanks Draco." He smiled at her and turned away to head back to the others.<p>

"Wait, Hermione." He turned back and stood in the doorway, just in front of Hermione.

"yes?" She asked curiously. He was slowing moving in closer.

"Merry Christmas" he breathed, pressing his lips against hers.


	10. Chapter 13

Smells like teen spirit chapter 13.

Hermione paced around her room restlessly. She just couldn't get that kiss out of her head. It had been a gentle, lingering kiss that seemed to imply that he was holding back. It had been the best kiss she'd ever had, not that she had many to compare it to in the first place. She was scared by the look in Draco's eyes as he pulled away. She was scared about what the future would hold. But what scared her even more, was the way that she had reacted to the kiss. She was scared by the way that her heart had started to race, the way she had leaned in to his touch, the way that butterflies beat around her stomach as he walked away after murmuring;

"Sleep tight Angel." As much as she protested against it, she actually quite liked being called Angel. She'd never really had a proper nickname before, it made her feel special. Loved. Lately even being around Draco had set her head and heart reeling. He was so different to how she'd previously known him. She'd always thought that he was a cold hearted bastard, but now she saw a much warmer, softer side to him. A side that she could fall in love with. She froze at that thought. Was she falling in love with Draco Malfoy? She had no idea what love felt like. But she knew someone who did.

CJ was curled up in bed with Ben, half asleep, when Hermione walked into her room.

"C? Are you awake?" She whispered. CJ propped herself up on arm.

"Hermione? What's up?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Hang on." CJ moved to get out of bed, only to be pulled back in closer by Ben. CJ sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ben, get off." He just grunted and held her tighter. CJ growled. "Benjamin Ethan Hollins, if you do not let go of me this instant, you won't be having any sex until the Easter holidays." That got a reaction. His arm rocketed away from her waist. She smiled smugly and got out of bed. "There, that wasn't difficult now was it?" She threw a silk robe on over her short silk gown, not bothering to tie it closed and nodded Hermione towards the door. She pulled it closed behind her and looked at Hermione expectantly.

"Draco kissed me." CJ's eyes widened.

"I think that we are going to need hot chocolate. Lots of it." She mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

After making a large thermos flask of hot chocolate and filling a large plate with chocolate biscuits, CJ took Hermione to the library. She settled herself in a large armchair, curled her hands around her mug and looked at Hermione, taking in the way that Hermione's hair frizzed out due to her running her hands through it and the stressed set of her shoulders.

"Tell me everything." Hermione took a sip of her hot chocolate and told CJ everything, including a few things that she hadn't even admitted to herself. CJ didn't say a word, just let Hermione talk and explain everything. By the end, Hermione was nearly in tears.

"I think that I love him. And it terrifies me CJ." She rose out of her chair and pulled Hermione into a strong, reassuring hug.

"Hey, hey, hey," She whispered. "It's ok. It'll be ok." She gently pulled away and looked Hermione in the eye. "Tell me why loving him terrifies you."

"Because he'll never love me back. Because Harry and Ron will never accept him. Because the rest of the pack will never accept it. Because of who he is." She murmured, fighting the tears. "Because of his family." CJ considered everything Hermione had just said, and then proceeded to pick holes in all of it.

"Bullshit, he'll never love you back. If he didn't care, why did he kiss you?" She took a sip if her hot chocolate as she watched Hermione's slightly shocked reaction. "It might not be love at the minute, but something is obviously there, if he's been the one starting the flirting. After all, he asked you on a date, not the other way around. He kissed you. So he obviously likes you." Hermione nodded in agreement. She'd never thought of it like that before. "As for Harry and Ron, they're supposed to be your best friends, if they can't accept that he makes you happy, that he's not like they think, then they're obviously not as great friends as you thought." Hermione began to defend her friends, but CJ held up a hand. "I'm not having a go at them. I'm just saying that if they can't accept something that obviously makes you happy, because they don't like him, then they're not as great as you make them out to be. A lot of my friends didn't like Ben to start off with, some still don't but they accept him because he makes me happy." CJ paused to let her point sink in before moving on. "The pack are mainly a bunch of stuck-up pure bloods who have their heads up their asses. They just don't get that we need muggles to survive or we'd all be inbred. They don't have to like it, but they can deal with it. Or they can deal with me, Draco and Blaise. As for who he is. A lot of that is a front, put on to keep up a reputation that will vanish when we graduate. He's not really that person. Sure there are aspects of the front that are him, but it's not all true. Give him time and you'll realise that. His family are a whole different kettle of fish. Yes, Narcissa constantly looks like someone has shoved a rotting fish under nose, but they both love him and want to see him happy. With Voldemort gone, Lucius is likely to live out the rest of his life in Azkaban. You don't need to worry about either of them. Besides, they're both wolves and could never, no matter how much they dislike you, hurt an omega." CJ studied Hermione as she finished her hot chocolate.

"How do you know so much about Omega's, C?" CJ bit her lip, not expecting this topic to have come up so soon.

"My grandmother was an Omega." She whispered, remembering times long passed. "But, that's a topic for another day. Now as for you and Draco. Just take it easy. See what happens and where life takes you." She drained her cup and stood. "Get some sleep Hermione, everything seems different after a good night's sleep." And with that she turned and left the room. Leaving Hermione to her thoughts.


	11. Chapter 14

Smells like teen spirit chapter 14.

After they returned back to Hogwarts following their visit to CJ's, Hermione had buried herself in her school work in order to avoid spending time with Draco. Despite her talk with CJ, she was still convinced that a relationship between her and Draco wouldn't work and that by submerging herself in work she could extinguish her feelings for him. For his part, Draco couldn't figure out what he'd done to upset her. Had the kiss been a step too far? It didn't seem like it at the time, but maybe…He just didn't know. One minute everything was fine, the next she would hardly look at him or speak to him. Usually he would talk to CJ, but after spending Christmas with Ben, she was struggling to settle back into Hogwarts. She'd stay because he needed her to help Hermione, but she was becoming more and more rebellious. Teachers were struggling to keep her under control in class. Her somewhat tense relationship with Flint was becoming more and more dangerous and Draco was starting to fear a dominance challenge against her from Flint. And just to add to all of his troubles, Pansy Parkinson was hassling him again. He sighed and dropped his potions text book on the table heavily. He couldn't get the topic of Hermione off his brain. What the hell had he done to deserve being avoided? As if on cue, the portrait swung open and Hermione walked in, carrying an armful of books. She didn't notice Draco sat in the corner as she carefully balanced her pile of books on the table. He smiled as she chewed her lip thoughtfully, while running her finger down the spines until she found the right book. No other girl had made him feel like this. The pile of books toppled over as she tried to extract a book from the bottom. Slowly, so he didn't startle her, he got to his feet to help.

"Angel, you work yourself too hard." He commented, crouching down to pick up a couple of books. She froze and watched him carefully as he handed her a book.

"Thank you." She took the book from him, careful not to touch him. Inwardly, he sighed.

"You've been avoiding me." He stated as she stacked all the books again and bent to pick up the whole stack. She didn't meet his eyes.

"I've been busy studying." She replied. He shook his head, smiling. CJ had been teaching her to lie with the truth,

"I'm not stupid Angel. We don't study The Battle of Truro for Newts. This is all extra credit work." Hermione shrugged defiantly.

"So? There's nothing wrong with doing a bit of extra credit work."

"No, unless you're using it to avoid me." She shook her head firmly in denial, dislodging a strand of hair from her ponytail. "Angel, it doesn't count unless you say it out loud. And you won't will you?" Draco smiled softly and reached out to tuck the strand of hair behind Hermione's ear, gently running his hand down her cheek in the process. He stepped in closer to her, backing her against the sofa. "Why are you avoiding me? What did I do to upset you Angel?" He breathed, resting a hand on her neck and the other on her hip. Hermione suddenly sprang to life, moving out of his grip and angrily dumping her books back on the table.

"Will you stop calling me that?" She snapped, glaring at him. He just smirked.

"You know that you love it."

"No I don't and I don't appreciate being told what I do and don't like!" She huffed, running and hand angrily through the loose strands of her ponytail. Draco's smirk faded and he frowned at her.

"What did I do to deserve this Hermione? We were getting on so well. I don't get it." His patience was starting to wear thin. Hermione looked him briefly in the eye before looking away and shrugging. That did it for him. His temper snapped.

"For fuck's sake Hermione! You and I both know full well why you're avoiding me!" She looked up, her jaw set in a determined line.

"Really? And why's that?"

"You're scared of what's happening between us. You're afraid that it's going to go down the same road as you and Weasley did."

"Maybe I just don't want you forcing yourself on me." She snarled. By now they were only about half a foot apart. Draco raised a hand and caught her chin, running a thumb down her cheek.

"I don't recall you complaining at the time." He breathed, taking half a step closer. Hermione chewed her lip nervously. That one move evaporated all of Draco's anger in an instant. "I miss you Hermione." He murmured, his other arm pulling her in closer to him.

"I miss you too." And before Hermione had chance to realise what she had said, Draco's lips were on hers.


	12. Chapter 15

Smells like teen spirit chapter 15.

**CAUTION!** This one is very Mature guys. Just to warn you

Hermione let Draco deepen the kiss, longing for his touch as he pulled her body even closer to his. His tongue slowly slipped into her mouth. Her hands were tangled in his irresistible platinum blonde hair, holding his lips tightly against hers. Draco nibbled on her bottom lip, creating a moan from Hermione. He smirked into the kiss, never once breaking lip contact, as he stepped backwards towards his room, pulling Hermione with him. His hand moved only from her body in order to open his bedroom door. She kicked it shut as she stepped into the room, enjoying the sensation of Draco's hands roaming her body. He pulled away from her lips, trailing kisses down her neck, stopping as he discovered her sensitive spot. He paused briefly there, sending a devilish look at Hermione before starting to suck, making her moan louder. Suddenly aware that she had nothing really to do, but enjoy the sensations flooding her body, Hermione focused on unbuttoning Draco's shirt. Her hands trembled as he continued to kiss and nip her neck. She enjoyed the strength of being a werewolf, as she lost patience with the buttons and ripped his shirt open, earning an amused chuckle from Draco. She began to happily run her hands over his torso, enjoying the sensation of his firm, toned body under her hands. Draco broke away from her neck as he pulled her jumper over her head, reattaching his lips to hers once the inconvenience of the jumper was out the way. His fingers quickly worked the buttons of her shirt undone, tearing a few off by accident as he went and he pushed the shirt off her shoulders. Hermione let the shirt slip to the floor before starting to undo Draco's trousers. He made an impatient noise in his throat as he struggled to undo her skirt. Eventually he found the button and pushed the skirt to the floor. By now they were both in their underwear and Draco gently pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.

"We don't have to do this Angel. Not if you don't want to." It killed him to say those words, for he'd been dreaming about this moment for a long time. Hermione replied by pulling him down for another more passionate kiss. He responded quickly, unfastening the clasp on her black lace bra. Hermione shook the bra off before running her fingers around the edge of his silk boxers. Already she could feel the heat of his erection pressing against her thigh. Slowly, teasing him, she slipped her fingers into the waist band, easing them down. Draco raised his hands so that they were cupping her breasts, gently he ran his thumb over her nipples, making her groan with pleasure. Leisurely, he pushed her down onto his bed, resting his weight on his hands. The only thing separating them was Hermione's thin lace panties, which Draco decided was one item of clothing too many. He stretched down, sliding them quickly off and over her legs. He leaned back down, capturing her lips with his. They spent a while like that until Draco broke away once more to look at Hermione.

"Are you ready?" Both of their breathing was heavy and Hermione bit her lip nervously and nodded. He leaned down and gently nuzzled her neck. "Its gunna be fine baby. Don't worry." He whispered, reaching down between them and tenderly rubbing his fingers over her. Hermione closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure. Draco smirked and continued to massage her intimately. Gradually his fingers left her and he guided himself deep inside. Hermione gasped in shock as the first moment of pain took her. Then slowly as Draco began to move, the pleasure began. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. A kaleidoscope of new sensations washed through her body as he upped the tempo of his movements, bringing them both closer to the edge. Hermione groaned loudly as the pleasure went up a notch as Draco began to suck on her neck again. She arched her hips up to his, driving him in deeper with each movement. Draco's thrusts became faster as his orgasm approached. Hermione's hit slightly before his, his name escaping her lips as her whole body shuddered and pressed closer into his. Draco came not long after, pressing his lips against hers tenderly. He rested like that for a moment, just enjoying the sensation of their bodies being so close together, before carefully pulling out of her and rolling onto his side. His hands wrapped around Hermione's waist and drew her into him. Her hands rested on his chest. Both of their breathing was heavy as he leaned in and kissed her softly again.

"You're amazing Angel."


	13. Chapter 16

Smells like teen spirit chapter 16.

Hermione stirred uncomfortably in Draco's arms as she became slightly self-conscious. She wriggled free of his arms and began to search for her underwear. Draco smiled and pulled on his own boxers. He stood and handed Hermione one of his t-shirts.

"I may have torn a few buttons off your shirt." He confessed. She smiled at him and pulled the t-shirt on over her bra. It was large enough that it fell down to her mid-thigh. She stood and began to gather the rest of her clothes, but was stopped as Draco wrapped his arms around her waist. "Stay." He whispered, burrowing his face in her silky hair.

"I can't." She replied, her voice quiet and full of pain.

"Of course you can, Angel." Hermione shook her head and stepped out of his arms.

"This should never have happened. We can never work out. At heart you and I both know that I'm a Gryffindor and you're a Slytherin. You're a pureblood and I'm muggle born. We're just too different." Draco stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms again.

"None of that matters. Just forget it for tonight. All that matters is that you're a wolf and so am I." He kissed her forehead. "We can worry about it all in the morning, for tonight, just sleep here." He led her back to bed, where they cuddled up together and fell asleep.

Harry frowned as he stood outside the portrait that hid the entrance to the head boy and girls dorms. He and Ron had arranged to meet Hermione here today so that she could help them with a herbology essay that was due next week. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember the password that Hermione had given him. Ron was being no help, just shrugging and continuing to stuff his face with a pumpkin pasty when Harry asked him if he remembered. It had something to do with plants, he recalled, but other than that he was stumped. He leant against the wall as he searched his memory for the phrase. Suddenly he had it!

"Screaming mandrake root!" He yelled, jumping to his feet. The lady in the portrait smiled and swung open, giving them access to the dorm. The common room was empty.

"Maybe she's still getting ready." Suggested Ron, although it was unlike Hermione to run late. Harry nodded in agreement.

"You check through that door there, I'll check up the stairs." They split to look for their best friend. Harry found what was obviously Hermione's room, from all of the books stacked everywhere, but it was empty. He headed back downstairs to find Ron, who was stood in the doorway of the room he was meant to check, his jaw wide open. "Ron? What's up?" Harry walked over to him, his own jaw dropping and rage filling him as he saw his best friend on seven years asleep in bed with Draco Malfoy, his worst enemy.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Hermione was woken from her deep sleep by a startled shout. She blearily opened her eyes to find Harry and Ron stood in the doorway, staring at her open mouthed. She cursed inwardly as she remembered their arrangement. How could she have been so stupid?

"H-harry, Ron…" She began to stutter, but was cut off by a seething Harry.

"Save it Hermione. I don't want to hear it." He snapped, turning on his heel and exiting the room, quickly followed by Ron. Hermione shot to her feet hurrying after her friends.

"Wait. You don't understand." She called after them.

"There's nothing to understand!" Yelled Ron. "How can you even _hope_ to explain away fucking Malfoy?" He spat with disgust.

"We've been nothing but patient and understanding, Hermione. You were suddenly transferred out of our house and into Slytherin, with no explanation. We didn't push it, just waited for you to come to us and explain. And this is how you repay us? By screwing around with Malfoy?" Harry's green eyes flashed with rage. Anger rose in Hermione as she was unjustly judged by two people she'd always trusted and loved.

"What right do you have to judge me and my actions?" She snarled, her eyes flashing pale blue. "None, you have no idea what I've been through! You've never judged my actions before and you have no right to start now!"

"We never took you for a whore before!" Shouted Ron. Hermione hid the pain that his comment caused her with anger.  
>"HOW DARE YOU…" She trailed off, suddenly doubled over with pain. Draco, who had been watching the whole exchange from his doorway, hurried over to her as she screamed in pain.<p>

"Hermione?" His voice was full of concern. Harry and Ron, however didn't hear him.

"Get away from her you snake, she doesn't need you. She needs the hospital wing." Harry tried to get between him and Hermione, but was shoved violently away as Draco realised what was happening. Harry glared at Draco as he stumbled to the other side of the room. He didn't know that Malfoy was that strong.

"Get over there and stay over there Potter, you to Weasley." Growled Draco, barely even looking at them. Ron glared at him, a look full of hatred.

"What gave you the right to tell us what to do?"

"I'm the only one in this room that knows what's happening to her, so would you just LISTEN TO ME AND GET OVER THERE!" His temper was starting to wear thin with the two Gryffindor's. The portrait suddenly swung open to admit CJ and Blaise, who sensing their Alpha's anger had come to see what was setting him off. CJ went straight to Hermione.

"She's shifting." Murmured Draco, his hand gently squeezing Hermione's shoulder as another spasm of pain ripped through her.

"No shit?" Snapped CJ. Draco growled at her, a truly animal sound. "Your anger is rippling through the whole pack and isn't helping her one bit. Go to the other side of the room and stay there until you calm down." Ordered CJ, shoving him roughly away. "Now Draco!" She glanced up at Blaise who was watching from a distance. "Keep them over there. I don't know what kind of mood she's going to be in when she changes, but if it was me, I'd be pretty angry with the people who got me so angry that I don't have control over my own body." She ordered, glaring furiously at Harry and Ron. Blaise nodded in agreement and her attention snapped instantly back to Hermione. "Ok sweetie, don't fight it, just go with it, like you do at the full moon. Focus on your breathing, keep them deep and even…"

"Will _someone_ please tell me what's going on?" Snapped Ron from the other side of the room.

"You'll see soon enough, now would you _please_ SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Replied CJ, barely even sparing him a glare as she tried to calm Hermione down as her body slowly and painfully changed into its 200 pound wolf form. "'Mione, I'm going to have to cut your clothes off ok?" Murmured CJ gently. Hermione shook her head firmly 'no'. CJ frowned. "Hermione, if I don't cut them off now, your body will be too big and they'll begin to dig in and tear off. It'll be quicker and less painful for me to cut them now, while I still can." She explained calmly. Hermione paused before nodding as she gritted her teeth through the already agonising transformation. CJ pulled her wand out and began to remove Hermione's t-shirt and underwear as her arms and legs began to lengthen. All of the boy's looked away as Hermione began to enter the final stages of the change. Her head began to elongate into a muzzle, her canines grew sharper and larger and fur began to sprout rapidly across her body. Eventually, a huge dark silver and white wolf slumped to the floor, exhausted. CJ stood and rubbed her hands across her face, leaning against the sofa. Hermione stretched her new body out and stood, her tail low and eyes downcast as Ron and Harry watched her in amazement. Ron was the first of the two to move, stepping past Blaise and crouching in front of Hermione, his hand outstretched.

"Hermione?" His voice was quiet as he reached towards her. Suddenly, his fingers were caught in a vice-like grip. He looked up to see CJ. He blinked in surprise, he could have sworn that he didn't see her move from next to Hermione.

"If you like your fingers attached to your hand, don't touch a newly turned wolf. They're testy and they hurt." She released his fingers and stepped back. Ron withdrew his hand and looked up at Harry, who was stood next to him.

"This is what you've been keeping from us?" Asked Harry, his voice barely a whisper. Hermione looked away, her brown eyes full of sorrow. Silently Ron got to his feet and turned away from her, walking towards the portrait with Harry following. Hermione took a couple of steps after them as they left, but CJ stood in her way.

"Leave them, babe, just give them time and they'll come round." She spoke quietly, understanding Hermione's pain. Hermione turned from her and ran up the stairs to her room, leaving everyone stood staring after her wondering what was to come.


	14. Chapter 17

Smells like teen spirit chapter 17.

Draco sank down onto the nearest armchair, covering his face with his hands. CJ took one look at him and looked up at Blaise.

"Why don't you go and reassure the pack that our Alpha isn't having some kind of mental break down or is under attack, I've got everything here." She suggested, sitting on the sofa, with a sigh. Blaise nodded and left, squeezing Draco's shoulder in sympathy as he passed. They sat like that in silence for a while, until CJ got up and walked into Draco's room. She came back out with a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand and two shot glasses in the other. She filled both and passed one to Draco, before draining her own in one, quick gulp. An action copied almost instantly by Draco. CJ refilled both glasses and leaned back.

"Talk to me, boss man, I don't like it when you're silent." Draco drained another two shots before croaking his reply.

"I love her." CJ just nodded.

"I know."

"She doesn't think that a relationship between us will work." He poured himself another shot and looked at CJ for the first time. She saw both pain and anger in his eyes and realised what he wasn't saying. She drained another shot and stood, squeezing his shoulder, like Blaise had.

"Give her time, she'll realise." She advised, heading for the portrait.

"Where are you going?" He asked, not looking up.

"To talk to those two idiots that she calls best friends."

She found them sat on a remote staircase, near to the astronomy tower. She took a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm the anger she felt towards them and walked over. Harry looked up as a shadow fell over him. Half expecting to see Hermione, he was surprised to see CJ Jenson looking down at him, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked, her Aussie accent twanging. He shrugged and she sat down on the step below him and Ron. She inhaled deeply and spoke. "Look, I don't agree with Hermione's decision not to tell you, but, don't be too hard on her. She's had it tough these past few months." Harry's head snapped up.

"Tougher than discovering that you're a horcrux and have to die in order to get rid of the evil bastard who killed your parents?" His voice was sharp. CJ held up a hand to calm him down.

"In some ways, yes." Harry opened his mouth to reply curtly, but she waved him silent. "Let me explain, and then you can have your say. When you died, you came back the same person, right?" Harry nodded, not understanding where this conversation was going. "Well Hermione had her throat ripped out, but instead of dying, she came back a completely different person. A monster. And once she had just about adapted to that bombshell, she was told that she was being uprooted from all of her friends and thrown into a House that would sooner see her dead than give her the time of day. All because she was different."

"You're trying to tell me that only Slytherins are werewolves?" Ron's voice was incredulous. CJ shook her head.

"No, there is a wolf pack in every House, but Hermione is _different_ to other wolves. You see, normal wolves are split into two groups: Dominant and Submissive. Hermione is neither." She took in the confused frowns on both of their faces and continued. "She's what we call and Omega. Dominant, but without the need to fight. Submissive, but without the need to submit. She's outside the normal pack structure, which is formed in order of dominance. In some respects, she's the most dominant wolf in the pack as she doesn't have the same compulsion to follow orders as other wolves do. An Omega's role in the pack is a calming influence. They can usually find ways to resolve issues without violence or bloodshed. They can calm violent, aggressive and sick wolves in a way that not even their Alpha can. Because she's within the dominance structure, she not perceived as a threat to the dominant wolves within the pack. But they'll follow her orders without question. It's complicated, and I'm not expecting you to understand all of this. You've just been thrown into the middle of all of this. To put it simply, Omega's are exceptionally rare within the wolf world. Dominant wolves find it exceptionally hard to hurt them, even emotionally. If it's rare to find a turned Omega, like Hermione, it's even rarer to find a naturally born Omega." Ron's frown deepened.

"So how come Hermione was turned, if it's so hard for wolves to hurt them."

"She was attacked by what we call a Mad Dog. A werewolf that has been moon called." She noticed their puzzled expressions. "Has gone mad. The wolf usually takes over the mind and is only intent on one thing; to kill. Hermione's lucky to be alive and to have such loyal dogs." They all sat in silence as Ron and Harry digested the information that CJ had given them.

"But Malfoy…" Harry trailed off, he was having a hard time stomaching the idea of Hermione having sex with Malfoy.

"Draco is the pack Alpha. He's been one of the ones that have helped Hermione accept and understand what she is. They've become close." Ron wrinkled his nose.

"But he's a slimy, lying, cheating bastard." CJ growled at him, her eyes flashing a vibrant green.

"Don't judge what you don't know." She snarled. "He puts on a front for the world. He gives them what they expect from a Malfoy, but underneath he's different. You have no right to judge him until you know him properly." She abruptly got to her feet. "The time has come for you to decide. Can you put your prejudices aside and accept what makes your best friend happy? Or will you leave your best friend to the wolves?"


	15. Chapter 18 The End

Smells like teen spirit chapter 18, The End.

Draco had almost finished the whole bottle of firewhiskey by the time Hermione came back downstairs. She barely even glanced at him, setting about gathering her clothes from his room. He pulled her into a hug as she came out of his room.

"It'll be alright Angel." He whispered, holding her against him. She pulled away, surprising him with her strength. There were tears in her eyes.

"No, it won't." She angrily swiped at the tears that were now running freely down her cheeks. "It will never be _alright_. Because of you my best friends will hate me forever." Draco pulled what CJ called his 'Alpha mask' on over his face as he tried not to hide how much Hermione's word hurt him.

"I know that it doesn't seem like that now, but give them time, they'll come round." Hermione had turned away to pick up her shredded underwear, but now she rounded on him.

"Don't act like you can predict the future Malfoy," The sudden use of his surname hurt Draco more than her words. "you can't. But either way, I'm going to lose something that I love." She hissed. He took a step towards her.

"Angel…" She cut him off, shrugging his arm away as he tried to hug her again.

"You just don't get it do you? This is all your fault!" She snarled, turning away and going back up to her dorm. She didn't see the tears that were forming in Draco's eyes as she walked away.

After that fight, Hermione said nothing to Draco for over a week, distancing herself from everyone around her as she tried to figure out what to do. Harry and Ron hadn't approached her once, upsetting her further. She'd held onto the vague hope that if she pushed Draco away, she could somehow win them back. It seemed that even that hope was being snatched away from her. She missed his company in the evenings as she studied, the way that his laugh seemed to make even the dullest History of Magic essay interesting. She sighed and put her quill down. She just couldn't concentrate recently, her grades were slowly starting to drop and that worried her. The portrait swung open and Draco entered, looking as distracted as she felt. She instantly began to gather her stuff, not wanting to be in the same room as him. A gently touch on her shoulder stopped her. She glanced up to see those gorgeous ice blue eyes staring into hers.

"Angel…" She bit her lip and took a step back. She could see the sadness in those emotive eyes and it scared her. Draco closed his eyes and sighed. "I can't do this anymore Hermione. I can't take not being with you." She took another step back, holding up a hand.

"Don't, please Draco, just don't." Her voice was shaky with emotion.

"What have I got to do to get you back Hermione?"

"I'm not coming back. We're over Draco. Accept it, move on." She picked up her bag and essay, turning to head upstairs when Draco's words stopped her.

"I can't. You're my soul mate Hermione." It was the first time that he'd spoken the words out loud and he was shocked that he'd finally admitted it. Hermione began to shake. She dropped her essay. Her bag slid off her shoulder.

"No." She whispered. "No!" She suddenly turned and all but ran from the room, tears flowing down her cheeks as she realised the truth.

Two weeks later, Hermione stared at herself in the mirror. She was a mess. Her hair was frizzing out all over the place, her skin was pale, she had dark, puffy bags under her eyes, her eyes themselves looked hollow and sunken. The truth was killing her slowly. Harry and Ron might be beginning to accept her again, but being without Draco was torture. Every time she saw him, in the corridor, in class, it was like her heart began to break all over again. She just couldn't take it. The pain. The agony. It just wasn't worth it. Slowly she began to tame her hair, using the spell that CJ had taught her so long ago. Once her hair was straight and glossy once more, she started on her make-up. Gradually applying concealer under her eyes and blending foundation over that. Brushing powder and blush over that. She took her time, ensuring that her eyeliner and eye shadow were perfect. Eventually she set her mascara tube down, and looked at her reflection. She looked like her old reflection, before all of the angst and heartbreak had begun. She straightened her green and silver tie and headed down to breakfast. She entered the Great Hall quietly, among other students, managing to blend into the background. Until she saw him. His icy eyes met hers as she crossed the distance between them. He got to his feet, ignoring the strange looks that his friends gave him. All his attention was for her. The whole Hall fell silent as they met at the end of the Slytherin table. Slowly, hesitantly, she smiled at him, biting her lip nervously. His reaction was to pull her into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his neck. His around her waist. They didn't care that whispering was starting to circulate around them, rumours spreading like wildfire. He held her tightly in his arms as if she would disappear if he let go.

"I love you Draco." Her words were muffled by his shoulder, but he heard them anyway.

"I love you too Angel." Was his reply, as he slowly let her go. "And whatever happens, whatever the world throws at us, we'll tackle it head on. Together." She smiled and nodded.

"Forever."


End file.
